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Loath squints through the tent into the brightness of the desert heat. "Ah! So you are. I must needs pray thy pardon, you hast not made introduction and so one was to presume that a leader of a troupe of warriors must needs be a man-at-arms."
She found her self tipping over, so she took a moment to scoot herself upright. "Now how is that you take me for a corsair? I am here fettered and guarded by such vile men as thou hast slain, so does that not prove I am as innocent as I hath said? If I were truly in league with them would I not have been free to cross steel with your mighty blade? Though, of course, I know but little of warfare and would now lay dead, my blood mingling with theirs in the ever-thirsty sand.
Come now, you must not fault me that I wear loose clothing, for such must needs be done in so hot a clime as this.
I beseech you, release me, and let me not die once the carrion eaters come to feast at the smell of death!"
The Mamluk commander shakes her head and says, "I care not about your words and you are wearing the same clothing as the others not bound, but maybe it was the only clothes you had available."
She then turns to the party and says, "Kill her or set her free, it makes absolutely no difference to me. However, we need to get back to Qudra. The quickest way would be to use one of these Dhows and sail along the coast. Nura, you seem to be versed in the ways of sailing ship, is that not correct?"
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"But if you do not care about my words why did bother to make me explain myself..." Liath mumbles to herself at her treatment by the bi-polar captain.
'Good thing dad isn't here to see this,' she thinks to herself, remembering him and why she ran away. 'They don't call him 'The Despoiler' for nothing.'
Not comfortable making the decision to release the prisoner the Mamluk waits for an order. His razor grasped tightly in his large calloused hands as he waits.
"I think you are right, since we cannot rely on being whisked away by magic, the ship is our best means of travel. Assuming we can find some way to re-dress it so that we are not mistaken for corsairs," she says, with a bit of an amused nod toward the prisoner.
"It makes no sense that the corsairs would truss up one of their own, does it? If they had a dispute among pirates, they would simply cut throats. Despite appearances I am inclined to believe that this woman is a prisoner rather than a pirate."
"I wouldn't expect a pirate to be so talkative," Nabila laughs. Or if they were so inclined, I would imagine they would not be so..." she stops, unsure of the right word to express herself without being offensive. "I say we cut her loose. I am curious to see how things will go."
"I am," Nura answers. "I believe that I can sail these."
Maleek takes Nabila’s suggestion as a command, ”As you wish.” He finishes releasing the half orc’s bonds and bows slightly, “Do not fear you are free good woman.”
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"A thousand blessings upon you, noble hero Maleek," Liath breathes out as she is finally released.
She takes a moment to gather up her things. She notes her finery is all gone, but she's able to gather up enough basic items for survival.
"Oh, are you now on a quest to seek the redress of grievances; to right great wrongs and bring justice to evildoers? Oh you must allow me to chronicle this! Please, I shall be no burden upon you!
I have read that these ships are unable to go so much as a single league without amble use of ropes, and I have studied much on its application! Oh do lets be off!"
That said she gets ready to start, but then pauses. "I, ah, I had some coin with me, but I, ah, do not now. I would not walk too much as a pauper, and, well, they have no greater need of it, so...." Liath gingerly takes knee and searches the corpses of her captors with the detachment of a surgeon performing an autopsy.
"Mistress Nura?" she asks, for the captain had used her name, "Which of these ships do you think is best? I shall gather rope from the others and concentrate in the one vessel you wish us to take!"
That done, she begins scrambling about the ships, gathering up rope from others so that one single ship might have all the rope it could need.
The Mamluk commander says, "Maleek, I suggest you keep an eye on her, she does not seem to be trustworthy."
She then switches to the now free Liath, "What nonsense do you speak? We are here in the interest of the Calipha's weapon shipment and to finish off the remaining corsairs and then to go back to Qudra."
Maleek bows at the thanks offered by the freed half orc.
The Mamluk nods in agreement to his commanders suggestion, ”She may not be right in the head. She talks much and makes little sense.” But she called me a hero, he reminded himself.
"I am surprised the pirates didn't gag her," Nabila mutters under her breath.
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Liath taps her cheek. "Exactly! Finishing off the corsairs qualifies as bringing justice to evildoers! And I guess getting a weapons shipment sort of a redress of grievances...."
"Yes, if you could just tell me what you want the rope to do..." Liath says to Nura, not knowing much about seamanship, but trying to aid in the attempt.
Nura is able to find the most seaworthy of the ships although to be honest any one of them were ready to go. The other two ships would be a bit too difficult to man with the skeleton crew you have available.
Liath goes onto to the other ships and starts to collect rope that is completely unnecessary. You pile the prisoners onto the Dhow and you set sail.
Fadilah is only too happy to come aboard the ships, enjoying the water element as she does.
"I do love the sea," she says, "though perhaps poetically. I have never actually served aboard ship. I hope I don't become too ill or too sunburned!"
GM Rolls
You get underway and about after an hour at sea, one of the other mamluks in the crow's nest says, "Boat off the starboard bow!"
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As she was left to her own devices, Liath straps up the two scimitars and one long dagger to her pack and clambers aboard the ship.
"Oh, you haven't?" Liath asks Fadilah, sidling up next to her, trying to keep an air of daintyness even as recovers from her rope-work, iron-hard arms still warm from the practice and her great chest yet heaving. "I just love the water. Though I was denied the luxury often, I did relish every, every chance I did get! Where did you grow up?" she asks with honest curiosity from a person with whom curiosity is a constant companion.
"Hmmm? We seem to have another ship out here. Is this a common merchant lane? Perhaps they are laden with figs? Ooo! Or maybe paprika!"
Her left hand drifts into her pocket, fiddling with something in a nervous habit.
The Mamluk in the crow's nest continues, "It looks like a rowboat!"
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"A rowboat? How very peculiar. Oh no! They must surely be in peril! They must have abandoned ship and are now adrift with no one to think of them!
Mistress Fadilah, Captain Nura, can't we stop to rescue them? They must be so forlorn, no doubt starved and dying of thirst, adrift for who knows how many days?"
Since Nura knew the most about sailing, it seemed only right to call her captain.
"We must needs pick them up, lest they perish in the unforgiving sea!"
Liath sounds as if she's already writing their life story, and just needs their signature for the book deal.
"Hmm. Yes, I am interested to know the story here." She didn't chance upon two crazy and powerful sha'ir in the middle of nowhere. "Curiosity is good, but we must still be wary. You never know what we might find."
Fadilah replies to Liath, "Oh, I am from Qadib, the City of Wands." She glances at her gen, which is playfully hanging over the railing and dipping its hands in the ocean. "Though I left after my apprenticeship and I am eager to see all the wonder and majesty of Zakhara!"
"I don't know much about seamanship," she continues. "Is it odd to find a rowboat out at sea like this? We are only an hour from the coast. Perhaps they are going to a nearby island? Or maybe lost?"
[ooc] To be fair you are within sight of the coast and you are about 4 hours from Qudra with good wind. [ooc]
"Could just be a fishing boat, then, staying in sight of the coast. We could always pass by and say hello. If something is wrong maybe we can help," suggests Fadilah.
"Bringing us about, then," Nura replies, and makes plans to do exactly that.
A fishing boat or a trap, Maleek decides. He readies his weapons just in case.
Nura and the mamluks are able to steer the dhow towards the small rowboat making its way to shore and as you get closer you drop your anchor into the sea.
The Mamluk in the crow's nest, "Ahoi!"
The man in the rowboat says, "Najm be praised, mayhap could you bring me to the nearest settlement?"
Nabila casts a glance at Maleek and nods the moment she catches his eye. The smartest of his bunch, I suppose. "But, my friend, you seem to have your own transportation," she calls out over the railing, "And what if we are not going your way?"
To Nura she whispers, "I would wager he was caught with another man's wife and is on the run, or that he's a thief. He is probably mostly harmless, but he makes me nervous."
Maleek gives subtle not back to Nabila, he refrains from overwhelming the man in the boat with questions and holds his tongue.
The man in tattered sailor's clothes retorts, "A settlement would suffice. I am not to particular, which. I am a trained sailor and my ship was wrecked."
He moves and puts his thumb up to the horizon in a makeshift human sextant and says, "I presume we are out of the main shipping lane of Qudra but south of her if I were to guess. I would surely die of thirst long before I could make her."
Nabila gazes thoughtfully then takes a deep breath. "How? Your ship, how did it wreck?" She looks at the others and shrugs. "He is one and we are many. He makes me nervous, but so far we have seen Najm's favor by engaging our curiously and being kind."
"Let me pass you some drinking water," says Fadilah helpfully. "It is the least we can do."
Maleek interjects, ”You are actually quite close to land and not in much danger of dying of thirst”
He says, "We got hit by a hard storm and our ship capsized. I was lucky to scramble to this launch after all was said and done the seas pushed me in this direction."
"Dare we trust him at his word? Or do we abandon him to his fate?" Nura whispers to her companions.
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"Oh please do let us give him assistance!" Liath finally pleads. She had not wanted to press her case, as she barely knew these people and had as little claim to the ship as anyone, but as their offer of help began to waiver she felt compelled to lay on.
"Oh nay, he is not yet safe, brave Maleek. In so small a boat surely he is slave to the whims of the tide! He might be run out to sea, even now, with precious land so close, only to die of thirst with the greater pain that safety was so near!
Oh please, Nura, sweet Nura, Nabila has the right of it! He is but one, and you have such strength as to slay a great many men. I have seen thy skill in battle!
Let us bring him up, lest he perish and we are forced to live with that the rest of our days!"
Liath springs into action and lowers down a rope with sure, trained hands.
Maleek shakes his head as he watches Liath spring into action he mutters to himself, ”Foolish girl, it is easy to understand how she became a prisoner.” Stil, he does not interfere, but watches the process with the stoicism of a man going to his own execution.
The man in the boat looks confused, reading the deck of the ship above. He sees this woman drop him a rope but notices no one else wants him on deck.
He says, "Lady, it seems as though your crew mates do not want me aboard. Permission to come aboard, captain?"
Nura sighs. "I will not leave a man to his doom, even if he is not far from his own salvation. Come aboard."
"Certainly we are not so heartless as to treat someone like corsairs would," agrees Fadilah.
oooogggghhhh, Maleek gives a slight moan at his companions generosity and says a short prayer for protection from evil spirits.
The man in the rowboat takes that as a cue to climb the rope up the side of your ship.
After coming aboard he says, "My name is Fawzia ibn Alzir, most great appreciations sahib." as he kisses Nura's feet.
"There were no other survivors from your vessel?" Nabila asks. "Should we not look for others? When did you run into the storm?"