Well said, he says as Mordrin is suddenly replaced by Black and Green. We will be glad to assist you with repairing the map in the morning. For the time being, Black and I can man the helm and patrol the ship.
" Very well then, be vigilant, we dont need you to be in bloody heap again. " Kael finishes his meal and uses his knowledge to point Mordrin in the proper direction then heading to his quarters and securing Mr. Edison to something. While diligently working on the black box.
Green continues to keep a sharp eye and ear out for anything unusual as he keeps the ship on course. Meanwhile, Black patrols the foredeck and periodically checks things out below decks. While above, he lets the moonlight provide his illumination, but he carries a candle while below.
As the night progresses, Kael is finally able to open the box after much struggle. Opening it he discovers many papers regarding trades with nearby islands. Vielundra shows up on the list of places the ship has gone many times, usually staying at port for only a few days and then leaving. However one time it was shown that the ship made it to the island, but didn't leave for well over a month. It does not specify why.
Mr. Edison will recite what he knows of Veilundra.
"Veilundra is home to warring Halflings and Giants, though they tend to be peaceful for a few years at a time, the hill giants return and pillage the large town for their resources. The island itself is well over 200 square miles of tundra, mountains and plains. Smaller halfling settlements exist on the island, but most everyone resides in the main town of Hovlehome. As it is the most guarded and prepared for an attack by the Giants. The town accepts all but the most brutish of passerbys under the stipulation that they run from the giant and let the townsfolk take care of it. Thankfully the Halflings haven't suffered a casualty in over 20 years thanks to, Stelven Goldwill. The mayor of the town of Hovlehome.
Green doesnt pick up on anything unusual throuout the night. Though Black does see Velania and Alabar talking to each other below decks in a hushed manner and stop as black would approach.
Morning rolls around, the sea bright with a pinking hue of the sun. The small waves lap at the ship methodically as the temperature rises to a comfortable humidity.
About 3 Weeks Later and the port of Vielundra is within sight. You may heal up to full if not already and do anything you want in between this time.
As the crew gathers in the galley for breakfast Velania and Alabar would stand when they finished their breakfast.
Velania speaks first, "Amelia, we have done the job and demand to be paid! And paid well beyond what we originally were meant to! As I nor Alabar agreed to fight the f%*%ing undead. We agreed to fight people!"
Alabar would draw a breath as if to speak, but Velania would cut him off, "Shut up, you didn't even fight the undead, you hid in the crows nest the entire time while the rest of us had to deal with the horrors of the bile ridden crew!" Velania would then draw her falchion and point it a Amelia.
"I- er we, want 1000gp each! And you better deliver!"
Velania would storm out of the galley at that with Alabar close on her heels.
Following the night of their attack on Jaraen's ship, Mordrin seeks guidance from his spirit to help stave off the corruption of the undead. He finds that he has gained a knowledge of how to detect the presence of the undead while also possessing a way to shield his own presence from their knowledge. The spirit also gave him a way to repair that which is broken.
He applies the latter knowledge to the map which Kael had discovered. Hoping that restoring the map would give them some notion of Jaraen's intended destination and what to do help prevent any further spread of plague they had discovered aboard that ship.
After passing the next few weeks sailing toward Vielundra, Mordrin has coming to form a close bond with his new crew mates, particularly Kael and Light. The captain seems to be a good woman, but she is a little too reserved for him to form any kind of bond with her. The same is true, though too a more severe degree, of Velania and Alabar. Mordrin is a bit confused by this at first, and is even a bit hurt by the way they tend to stop talking and stare darkly at him anytime he approaches, but he soon comes to understand that this must have stemmed from the horror of the night attack.
With this understanding, Mordrin is not altogether surprised at Velania's pronouncement at breakfast this morning. After she and Alabar leave the room, Mordrin sighs and leans back against the wall from his bench seat. Well, I suppose I can't blame them from not feeling too inclined to join us for any further nights like the last one, but 1000 gold? I thought I was the only one who had his senses knocked out of him that night! What do you suppose we should do, Amelia?
Amelia would snort at Mordrin's response. Clearly aggravated by the sudden demand for money. She would get up without another word and head to her cabin, at least that's what one could assume. Moments pass, but a sudden scream from the deck above sends shivers down your spine. As the crew rushes to the deck, an overpowering smell of blood can be picked up in the air.
Busting out from below decks to the main deck. The crew bares witness to shadowy chains wrapped around Amelia's and Velania's necks. Raised 10ft off the ground. The chains clink eerily as you follow them back too their owner. A thin, bald and pale skinned man stands upon the far side of the deck. He wears tight fitting leather armor and wields a scythe; from which the shadowy chains emanate from. He contorts his head at your arrival. Even among the morning sun, a veil of darkness coats the ship and make everyone inside the radius of it feel heavy as if tar coated the very air. The unmistakable sight of stitches line his body, stitches even crudely adorn his mouth in an almost sinister blank face.
After he speaks, your eyes come to rest on a katana that impales his chest. The body of Alabar rests at this creatures feet, sliced almost in two, laying motionless upon the deck. The creature then vanishes in an instant, taking the two wrapped in its chains with it. The katana that was just impaled into the creature clangs to the floor. The morning sun shines upon the ship once more.
After the creature disappears and the sun returns, Mordrin immediately separates and gets to work. Black raises his symbol, holding it in front of himself and held parallel to the deck. He stares along the length of his arm past the end of the symbol with one eye open, kind of like looking down the sight of a pistol. He focuses his gaze on the spot where the creature had been standing moments before.
Meanwhile, Green rushes over to Alabar, a look of desperation in his eyes. He kneels by the limp form of his former crewmate and begins checking for any vital signs.
As he recognizes the hopelessness of tending to Alabar's wounds, Green hangs his head momentarily, then jumps to his feet as he roars with fury. Having vented his anger, he asks for some help moving the body to the infirmary so he can prepare it for a proper burial at sea.
The detect undead spell Mordrin had cast reveals no auras aside from a very faint aura coming from Alabar's blade, concentrated around the black blood that adorns it.
"do we have anything we could use as a raft? If so I propose we set his body out to sea burning his remains so that he can rest in peace" Light chirps up, still in shock of what had happened. "from here on we're going to need to stay on full alert it seems"
Kael wasnt one to react openly but sight of seeing both the captain and Velania stolen from them while they could only watch was more than unnerving. The sense of helpless stung to the core and left a bitter aftertaste inside, especially considering their recent success. Alabar's desecrate corpse was icing on the sorrow cake. His teeth gritted quite hard as all the information on WHAT THE F*@@ that creature who stole them away was.
" We have a plethora of problems from this situation, so I suppose giving Alabar rights is par. However, the current mission is to find out as much information as we can.. and get those two back. This is a tragedy. We lost both our Captain and half the crew to some mummified .. THING. It likely has something to do with all these UNDEAD! " Kael starts to bleed from his mouth as his teeth grind harshly, his cool waning.
" And under our watch, it shouldn't have happened! I should have been there! My senses are honed for such things! "
" Mr. Edison.... do you know something you have been holding out? Do you know what or who in the Nine Hells that was? " Kael says somewhat unamused.
Black and Green silently move toward the med bay and return with a stretcher carried between them. Careful to avoid getting too much blood on themselves, they shift Alabar's remains onto the stretcher and carry him to the stern of the ship, where they carefully set the stretcher down. They reform into Mordrin, who then addresses the others, I agree with Light. We should burn the remains so as to halt the infection if any persists in him. While we are on the topic, be careful handling that blade. The blood carries the undead taint. We should return the blade to Alabar when we send him off, however. Though we did not know him well, I would guess he would desire a warrior's burial.
He hangs his head for a moment, the looks up at the others again, his eyes now bloodshot and wet with the beginning of tears. Now, does anyone have any idea what that thing was?
"Whaaatt?" Says Mr. Edison from inside the ship.
Mordrin and Kael both know that the creature was, despite its appearance, not undead. Kael has heard of something, a construct of some kind, that uses the body parts of individuals. Though this creature still seemed to have very much living skin, just stitched.
Light finds the a single rowboat upon the ship, but using it for a funeral pyre would leave the ship without a rowboat to travel to shore with.
Kael seems to twitch uncontrollably pulling out a vial to examine the blood on the katana for later. " Whatever it was.. was alive. I'm going to go ask our aquatic compatriot what he might know. "
Kael travels below deck to and informs Mr. Edison of the details.
Mordrin sighs as the realization comes over him that the creature was not quite undead. He moves below deck and tries to find any empty barrels that they might attach to the stretcher to make it float. If there are any barrels that are mostly empty, he will try to consolidate the contents into a single container or place anything that will not spoil on shelves. He brings the materials to deck and uses rope to bind the barrel(s) to the poles of the stretcher, ideally with one at the top by Alabar's head and one at the bottom by his feet. He gets help attaching the makeshift raft to the rigging so they can lower it down to the water.
He retrieves Alabar's katana, careful to grab only the handle using a piece of cloth to keep from getting any blood on himself. He places the blade on Alabar's chest and folds the half-elf's arms across the blade. He then finds some lantern oil and pours it over the body. Once this is done, he gets help hoisting the body over the rail with the rigging, lowers the body to the water, then cutting the rope to release the raft. Finally, as they begin to sail away from the raft, he sticks a rag into another flask of lantern oil, sets the makeshift firebomb alight. He says a quick prayer , then lobs the flask at the raft.
Kael's transfer of the black blood from the blade to a vial proves troublesome as the viscosity of the blood seems to be that of tar and smells like it too. But eventually enough drips down into the vial to satisfy you. The vial feels unnaturally heavy as if it was filled with a flask full of liquid rather than less then an ounce of liquid that it actually contains.
Mr. Edison swims about in the globe anxiously, at Kael's arrival, Mr. Edison will speak. "What happened up their? Is everyone OK? What is that vial?"
"Hmm troubling news... troubling news indeed... while I did not get time to know them, it saddens me that something so terrible could happen to my liberators. I'll assist in any way that I can to find the two that were taken! Harumph!"
Mr. Edison looks at the vial that Kael holds up to him and you can almost picture him with an arm scratching his non-existent chin. "Hmm it is almost of a tar like consistency isn't it? Hmm, I'm not sure myself exactly the process as to turn ones blood to tar... seems rather peculiar... and counterproductive... There is a man in Kartheisly that Jerean frequently did business with. An alchemist by the name of Gulshan Lorennz. He deals in exotic alchemical ingredients. He is probably your best bet to further your search for the ones who captured Velania and Amelia and killed poor Alabar."
Mordrins aim was well assisted thanks to his spell, though it took a bit for the bottle of lamp oil to catch the makeshif raft alite. It was soon burning brightly on the horizon as the crew made their way into the port of Hovelhome on the island of Veilundra.
Upon exiting your ship, it comes to your attention that a lot of the houses in Hovelhome are small, though this is to be expected due to the major portion of the population being halfling. You can clearly see larger buildings in the town which you can guess are for the people less vertically challenged. You pick out a few non-halflings here and there on the edge of the town. A few humans, a couple of elves, one disgruntled dwarf who looks like he could punt a halfling on top of an inn and there is also a Half-Orc, currently in a heated discussion with a halfling on a barrel with an inkpen and book.
"I told you already! Its 100gp to dock your boat here you mini-giant!" The halfling's voice loud and pronounced.
Somewhat impressed with her painting she would sit there for a time as the sun loomed over the horizon. Her painting, one of her few and first masterpieces in her mind, would serve as a memory of their losses and gains.
As the chill of the coming night air would make it's appearance Light would once again climb down and head to the kitchen. Greatful to be alive she'd mumble to herself under her breath... ..."s'pose I outta get dinner started..."
As they docked she watched carefully as to take in the entirety of this new establishment.
"... here's to hopefully gaining more comrades..." Light would say to the others as she began walking off the ship.
"Hey, come on, this is daylight robbery. I'm sailing down here in this rotten dinghy. Spare some thought for an impoverished traveler."
Mordrin clambers down out of the ship and approaches the halfling. Are you the wharf-master, sir? My friends and I just arrived, and would like to make port here for a few days. How much will it be to dock our ship here?
He turns to the half-orc and addresses him, Oh my. I apologize for cutting in. I have been slightly distracted recently.
The halfling rolls his eyes at Tassadar's protest for a better rate. "A boat is a boat mini-giant! Ah! A human! Yes I am indeed, it'll be 5gp to dock your ship, what is it's name and who captain's it? The halfling holds up his ink pen and parchment ready to write down your reply.
The halfling now ignoring Tassadar...
Mordrin averts his eyes and mutters, Ah...the captain. Well...the thing is... In all the turmoil of recent events, he had forgotten that Amelia had been taken. They would need a new captain until they rescued her. He trails off for a moment as he considers the crew. He would never presume to make himself captain without talking about it with the others first. Kael is certainly a great warrior, and Mordrin has never met anymore so intelligent, but he isn't sure how well he would do if they took on any new crew members. Light is also quite a warrior, but often seems aloof.
After standing there thinking for a moment too long, Mordrin notices the impatient look on the halfling's face. Before the small wharf-master loses his patience and walks off, Mordrin blurts out, Edison! The captain's name is Mr. Edison. The ship is...um...The Magic Fish. He turns to look at the side of the ship, remembering that the name should be painted there and sees that it's actually "Sea Witch's Embrace" . He turns back to the halfling. We're changing the name. Oh! And here's the 5 pieces.
The Elvish man strolled from the gangplank onto land, coming towards the halfling with many such papers. " We are the Andraeia Gale Captained by Amelia. The proper amount of gold should be included in this pouch, " Kael giving the little man a burgundy pouch.
He then eyed Light somewhat motioning towards the orc.. or half-orc he wasnt fully sure. Moving towards the man he spoke gesturing to the halfling while keeping eye contact to the orcish man. " I have excellent hearing, you seem to be in a bit of trouble may I ask what is your name and if currently your vessel means anything to you? "
The halfling is noticeably confused, "Umm... there seems to be a bit of a discrepancy, maybe if I... in fact... talk to the captain... the ACTUAL captain..."
Kael stopped and looked to the halfling, " That isnt possible at this time but the papers there should be adequate. Captain Amelia is the proper owner. And we would appreciate your cooperation. Mordrin here simply forgot. If that is a problem you may keep both amounts of currency and use it as you will. "
Tassadar takes the halfling ignoring him as a good thing. Silence means consent afterall, if he wasn't available to protest, meant he didn't give a hoot about Tassadar docking his boat.
Tassadar salutes his "distractions", hums a jaunty tune and goes off to dock his boat.
Mordrin chuckles a bit and a sheepish grin crosses his lips. Ah yes. My mistake. Sorry for the confusion sir. He then turns and walks a short distance away, heading toward the main road away from the docks. He stops and waits for the others, now wearing a somewhat sour expression.
The halfling looks down at his paperwork and grumbles to himself, "Bribing a halfling, elves have sunk that low huh?..." He jots down some notes on the paper and puts away both amounts of gp.
His face perks up suddenly, "Welcome to Hovelhome!" He hands you a piece of parchment that looks like it has been made by an ink press.
It reads...
The halfling looks around to try and find Tassadar.
But is unable to find you amongst the other much larger ships in the docking area.
Tassadar tries to sneak into the town(without being spotted by the halfling) and follow his "distractions". He does owe them a round of drinks. It's definitely cheaper then the docking fee...
Having just stepped out onto deck as the discussion between her crew mates and the halfling went down, Light would stretch. It had been far too long since they'd been on land she thought to herself as she regains her composure looking to the Orc-like being. She's notice straight away the hinting towards the man from Kael and begins following the man at a distance at first, so as not to draw attention to him. After a short distance she'd approach, "Excuse me?, I couldn't help but notice you were having some trouble back there?"
Light awaits a response before continuing.
" Not being an elf helps, now then... " Kael regroups with Mordrin and Light, reading aloud the brochure to them both. Once he does so he focuses more with Mordrin.
" The Shakin' Salamander is probably a place of interest we need visit. Setting up the communications to retrieve our booty and exchange it for coin or supplies is necessary for the Journey we need not to mention commissioning more crewmates. Do you either have any other ideas I might be missing? "
None at the moment, Mordrin replies. Though it looks as if Light has decided to speak with that half-orc from before. Sort of rude, the way he walked off without answering your question before, but I'm sure he had his reasons. Perhaps we should join Light, then head to the Salamander as you mentioned.
"Oh yeah, I ran afoul of the local regulations. Would you believe they were actually charging for docking? I mean, how can people even claim ownership on the sea? Not to mention he charges big ships 5 gp and my small boat 100. What is the world coming to?"
"B*llocks, I tell you, b*llocks," he complains. "I happen to be looking for a group that helped me distract that pesky halfling. Now my boat's safely docked, I owe them a round of drinks."
Smiling coyly to the man, "drinks you say?... Well they should be catching up to us soon... And we happen to be looking for new crew mates.", she would sigh. Perhaps sprung but she had a plan. "perhaps over that drink we could all introduce ourselves"
Light looks about to try and spot the others, waving them over as she does.
"Sounds like a plan." Tasaadar follows Light.
Kael would shake his head, " It was nothing too important, there was no obligation and I can guess why the orcish male decided to reposition himself. " The half-elf would sigh.
" The docking is taken care of that was the initial hurdle- Ah, it seems Light is calling for our attention. Likely made a correspondence with the orc. We shall see the situation. Regardless we need those supplies and I need to research. "
Kael beckoned Mordrin over with him to Light, " Has our green acquaintance been more forthcoming with information Light? " gesturing to the man.
"I haven't gotten into the conversation too deeply yet. Getting away from the halfling was more important I figured seeing as he was overcharging this guy" Light would make a gesture raising her hand to her chest and the other to her comrades. "This is Kael and Mordrin, my crew mates. I am, as you've heard, Light. We have traveled quite a ways to get here and are looking for information regarding some er,... Well, perhaps we should get those drinks, I think it best not be talked about out in the open. We are also looking for able bodied crew members, if you're interested?..."
The taller man nodded, " Kael Rivers to be exact. I mainly handle navigation or originally did, I also tend to handle inventory. As for our predicament that is indeed best to be spoke somewhere else. I must inform you however, I plan to go to the Salamander post-haste. If you would like to accompany him to one of the bars here I would be there after some time. I rather this all be set up and in motion early rather than later. "
Kael's last few sentences spoke to Light.
I'm Tassadar. I'm looking for an elf named Jaythail, I heard her ship passed this way? She told her tales of dashing adventure and fabulous loot on the high sees. All that swashbuckling, that glory, getting rich...I want all of that too!"He pumps Lights hand up and down as he talks about his dream.
"Yes, yes. We should get drinks. That's how I found out that the world was my oyster. What's the Salamander?" he asks Light.
" Salutations Tassadar, as for Jaythail? Sir, while I may seem to have elven features I assure you it stops at the slight points on my ears and the height. I personally know not this woman. I may be able to show you some 'swashbuckling' as you say but the rest is more, up to luck. "
Kael tried to see if he knew anything about this woman.
" The Salamander was a shortname. The full name is apparently Shakin' Salamander. I suppose it is a trading shop of some type. One of the taverns is named the Twidiler's Tap House. You all can go there. "
Mordrin saunters over toward Tassadar, his hand extended to grasp the orc's hand, perhaps giving Light a reprieve. Good day, Tassadar. As Light said, I am called Mordrin. I am sorry this elf woman you are after has eluded you again. Hopefully you will find her soon. In the mean time, let's grab those drinks.
He turns to Kael and asks, Would you like any assistance in bartering off our goods, or do you feel confident that you will manage alone? I am glad to accompany you if you like. Otherwise, the three of us can head to Twidiler's and you could meet us there once you are done, as you suggested.
Kael gave an appreciative nod, " I is simply a routine run, to sell off by supplies and then reward our efforts evenly. Afterward the search continues for better or worse. Go enjoy the festivities, I'll handle the less fun parts and would rather not ruin Tassadar's gift. It may not appear such on my face but I couldnt take a drink wile grieving. "
The sone-faced man gave a slight grin before going off on his way.
light gives a nod to Kael, and smiling at the other two she continues, "I would feel off if I didn't offer, but my trust is with you Kael. But if you wouldn't mind,..." she approaches and hands him a piece of parchment and a small bag. Leaning in she'd whisper, "do be careful."
The parchment reads;
'if you should find any wears to make more alchemical fire I would be greatful. Also salt and rations as I personally am out. Thanks!
"My apologies to sound so rude, but a girl's gotta have her secrets. He he he" a mischievous smile spreads wide on her face. "shall we reserve a table?"
Sounds lovely! Come along, Tassadar. If it's not too rude to ask, tell us a bit about yourself.
Mordrin begins walking in the direction of the tavern with Light and Tassadar, making idle conversation as they go. He's not sure what it is, but something about this half-orc intrigues him. Perhaps his openness about his desire for adventure. Recent events had somewhat dimmed Mordrin's spirit, and Tassadar seemed like a ray of light into the gloom of their lives.
"Oh me?" Tassadar seems genuinely surprised and pleased at the same time that you're asking about him. "No one's ever asked about me before, you know," He says the last part almost to himself, wistfully. "Well, I was working in the taproom, when this busty elf and all her friends talked about their adventures at sea.She was quite the looker, if you get my drift." He blushes slightly. "At first I was just looking. Then when Jaythail told about her adventures, the riches, the fame, the glory, I was like...oh my god. why was I wasting my life down here? There was the whole world out there, waiting for me!" His eyes go wide with wonder."I could be rich and famous like her too! No more scrubbing tables for me. I would be renown throughout the world. Featured in all those bard tales. And I'd get beautiful women falling all over my feet!"
"Oh dear. I went off point again, didn't I?" He apologies."So anyway, I slipped myself off after my shift ended, tried to follow her to ask if I could sign up...and got lost. I was caught in a thunderstorm when some wee little sparkly thingies asked if I'd like to join them in their party, where it was bright and sunny. Of course I said yes. Anything would be better then being rained on, if you get my drift."
"Word of warning about those wee folk? They sure know how to throw a party. When I was done, I found myself in the middle of nowhere, and when I asked people directions to places, they gave me funny looks. Apparently I was asking about places that existing 10 years ago...I think the next time the wee folk ask me to party, I'm going to decline their invitation."
"Oh, have any of you seen Jaythail? Kael said he didn't." He adds as an afterthought.
I've never met nor have heard of such a person Tassadar...", Lifht brings her hand to her chin, resting a finger over her lips in a questionable state of mind. Continuing in their way she gives up in the thought realizing she knew nothing at the moment that she could offer as contribution to the Orc-ish man. "In any case she sounds like a great adventurer, though I can only assume there is more to here than just the outside crust that is her glory. This information indeed catches my curiosity..."
Neither Kael or Lightt seem to know anything about Jaythail.
Lightt, Mordrin, Kael and Tassadar make their way into town. The street was full of the hustle and bustle of the morning routines. Many of the halflings were working in and around their homes. Tending to flowers or laundry. Most were smiling as they worked, which made you all feel at ease.
The town of Hovelhome itself seemed to welcome you in as you make it to the town square. The streets made of worked stone, outlined in grass and wildflowers. Many ropes hung over the town square, from each hanged dried herbs and spices that filled the air with a pleasant aroma as the wind blew softly from the east.
The sound of children laughing makes you turn your head to see a muscular human man lifting children up who were grasping onto the his biceps, barely being able to wrap their arms around his muscles. He lifts a good six of the children up high into the air. "You cannot stop the giant of Veilundra!" The man proclaims through a smile and a intentionally gruffer voice. More children being to appear, grabbing onto the mans legs as he pretends to struggle at the attempts to take him down. He falls to one knee, "No, how could I be defeated?!" he exclaims as he slowly brings his body to the street. The children laughing and cheering fall silent as a few women step up to the downed 'giant.' "OK little ones, that's enough, let Mr. Goldwill go." The children moan and sigh but don't put up much of a fight as they slowly get off Mr. Goldwill, who then sits up, still inches taller than the women. "You shouldn't encourage them like that Mayor." One of the woman says seemingly fighting back a smile. The man just laughs and rubs the back of his head. The women leave with the children and Mr. Goldwill stands up and brushes himself off, then makes his way to one of the larger houses that faces the square, only pausing briefly when he reaches the statue in the center. Which appears to be a statue of himself.
The statue is made out of copper which shines brilliantly in the morning sun. A old halfling man is polishing the base of the statue currently and you can assume is the caretaker.
Two large buildings are seen also facing the town square, one has a bright red lizard sign with interlocking sections that are attached to a small windmill. As the windmill turns, the body of the lizard moves about from side to side in a slithering motion. The other building has a large mug on it's roof with the words, painted on the side in bright gold paint.
"That's sweet of him," Tassadar comments, as Mr Goldwill lets the children have their "victory". "Most people in high up places don't really care about the common folk much. The town's lucky to have him as mayor."
"Ah it's the tap house. Drinks are on me!"
The lack of information about the individual Tassandar spoke of confused Kael somewhat. If such a person was even cursory in fame he would have heard SOMETHING, but could not squander even a tidbit of knowledge about her. Perhaps he would ask Mr. Edison? Using the quill as he was instructed gold light streamed out as he wrote, " Mr. Edison, do you have any knowledge about Jaythail? " He awaited the asnwer as the group walked.
Kael would nod curtly to Light, though noting the secrecy for later. As they approached the cavalcade proved interesting and the mayor even more so. He had thought him a halfling himself but apparently he was wrong. Giving the group a salute Kael ventured off to the Shakin' Salamander. Keeping his wits about, the half-elf warily studied the building and its inhabitants before moving in and trying to find a trader.
Light appears a little taken back by the kindness the "supposed" mayor showed the children. "rare indeed..." taking a moment and a deep breathe she would continue walking towards and eventually into the tap house. "shall we?" Light asks with a playful smile.
Mordrin smiles quietly at the almost fatherly way the mayor plays with the halfling children, a pang of sadness and anger welling up deep within. He wonders what it must be like for the children to have such a seemingly great man to admire. Maybe that's what Tassadar feels about this Jaythail person too, he thinks. Despite his time traveling around the Grand Line, he hasn't heard anything about this person Tassadar is looking for, and decides it must have been some local rumor back on the island where he the half-orc came from.
As the party wanders into the tavern, Mordrin turns to their new companion and says, That's quite a tale you tell, Tassadar! Strange beings that abduct people for a night, only to return them a decade later without the person having aged more than a night's worth?! Who's ever heard of such a thing!
He finds a table with four open seats and sits down, continuing the small talk with Light and Tassadar as they wait for a serving boy or girl to offer them drinks. He tells Tassadar a bit about how he came to be an itinerant ship's medic, explaining that his mother had brought him up in a very religious household and had taught him the healing arts. When she died, however, he had to branch off on his own, and so had not achieved the druidic powers of his mother, though he had received a blessing of another sort. I cannot help but wonder if your encounter with these strange creatures presented any such hidden gifts for yourself? he asks with an air of innocent curiosity.
Mordrin is asking with a clear interest to gauge the value of this half-orc as a potential crew mate.
"Abducted would be too harsh a word. They were having a party. I like parties. Though on hindsight, I wonder if it was the best of ideas..."his voice trails off.
"At least you knew your mother." He sighs. "I never knew parents, not that anyone ever said anything nice about them. The kindest words they ever used was he was a drunkard and she was a whore." he continues bitterly. And nothing good would ever come out of me. No! I'll prove them wrong!
"Oh those fey? Did I say fey? Hmm. Could've sworn I didn't know that word previously. Yes, yes. Little guardians of the woods, who dislike cold iron, fire and axes. Now where did that information come from?" He rambles on.
"Hidden gifts, hmm? Why don't I show you a few tricks..."When the server brings the wine, he tells her not to pour it into the glass. The Wine bottle will pour its contents into the glass by itself.
"See, no hands." He grins. He then orders a beer for himself.