Tessa's ship had come to ashore to the largest port in the Shackles three days ago. Since that time she has been chasing down a lead on her quarry that has taken here across the ocean from The Shackles to Aracadi and back. Seemingly always two steps behind the murderous pirate, she is unquestionably committed to his execution by her blade, no matter the cost. The Bald Kraken will die with me standing over him.
On the mainland of The Shackles in Port Peril she hunts down her latest lead, Giulio The Ginger. Rumor had it he frequented an establishment called The Formidably Maid. No doubt a seedy, disreputable and extremely dangerous tavern which she had no business being in. But you go right ahead and try to tell her that, Contessa Teslyn Steele was as stubborn as they come.
She pushes into the tavern and is immediately hit with the overwhelming stink of sweat, alcohol and .. is that sex?
Probably.
Shaking her head, she pulls up her already too-short skirt that doesn't even make it halfway down her legs so that there is plenty of pale skin showing. The boys like skin, makes them loosen their lips faster. Searching the bar for her target isn't' difficult, there's only one wavy blond red-haired man in the establishment. His fancy buckle on his belt and trademark knit cap seal the deal.
Pushing up her breasts in her corset, she saunters over to to Giulio who is sitting on a table with a handful of other lowlifes. Flipping her hair over her right shoulder, she looks down at his lap. Though she speaks perfect Taldane given her status a minor noble growing up, she drops all of that here steps into the role she has to play. "Ain`t 't a shame thar ain`t any seats free in here? Ye`re lap be lookin' awfully lonely. Ye mind if wee old me hops on an' has an grog wi' ye?"
"Well lookit you, sweetness!" Giulio remarks in disbelief. He turns to make his lap more available and pats it in invitation. "You're welcome to make y'self comfy. But I has t' warn ya's that I just got enough coin for a few more drinks."
Tessa reaches into a pouch on her right side and accidentally splashes several silver on the table. Oops! Would ye look at that? I guess I 'ave a few piece o' eight extra t' spare. Why don't ye get th' lads a round o' drinks on me.
When one of the men scoops up the coins and makes off for three rounds of drinks, Tessa is pleased, unable to refrain from keeping a huge grin from showing on her face.
The first round goes down quickly and she's finishing her second glass when she decides to get to work. "Wha''s ye're name, cutie pie? I adore that hair, 'tis jus' like mine! Ye can call me Tee." she giggles unnecessarily.
From behind Giulio there comes a clear voice, "And then he said... 'you can keep the bird, I just want the parrot!'" A roar of laughter rocks the tavern, along with table pounding and raucous calls for 'more drink', 'another story', 'MORE DRINK!'
Through a brief eddy in the crowd the center of attention can be seen. Long black hair contrasts dramatically with pale skin as the young woman throws back her head, slender throat working as she swallows down a hefty mug of ale in great gulps. Finally she slams the tankard down and grins around at the admiring circle around her - clearly drunk on something, either the alcohol or the adulation of the crowd.
Her eyes catch Tessa's and she stares for a moment, before levering herself out of her place - pursued by groans and more than one lewd suggestion. Her trousers aren't particularly revealing, but are well fitted to slender hips, enough to draw a second glance as she walks closer with elaborate care.
"Lacey? Lacey!" She cries. "What in the Empire's name are you doing here?"
Tessa freezes, her back going rigid. She hasn't heard that name in a long time. There's only one person she knew that called her by that name and she is far, far away from here.
Two drinks isn't normally a lot, but Tessa had already had three before she even walked through the door. Her reactions were a little off as she spun her head left and right looking for owner of the voice. Hopping off Giulio's lap and patting his head. "I'll be right back shweet thin', don't ye go'sh anywheresh now? 'lright?"
Tessa slips a step when she hits the floor, moving too quickly. Bracing herself on the side of Giulio's face, she rights herself and walks towards Harmony. The closer she gets, the more she squints her eyes.
Stepping up to her, swaying slightly while trying to stand still she looks the woman over. "Who ye be? Where ye bein' hearin' that name anywhowsh? Yoush don't know me." she slurs her speech slightly, squinting and leaning closer to Harmony's face until she's only about six inches away.
Harmony stares right back, before flipping the bird over her shoulder as someone calls for the two girls to kiss. The pose certainly looks intimate even though neither woman moves for a good thirty seconds.
"Lacey? It's me, Vi." Harmony has had the good sense to drop her voice at least. Her mismatched eyes, emerald green and strange violet, bore into Tessa's with sudden intensity. "Where have you been? What happened to you?"
Tessa's eyes widen as he head pulls back a few inches in surprise. The phony accent disappears and she shakes her head twice. "VI!?" she whispers "What are you doing here? It's not safe for you here. Do -" she stops mid-sentence as fear washes over her face and she moves her head directly in front of Harmony's as if hiding from something behind the bard.
You lady, do your mothers know your are here?! I swear to Gods you better not have told them you were coming here to meet me. They are here already, aren't they?" Tessa slowly peeks out behind Harmony expecting to find two older women, arms crossed, glaring at Contessa.
She slowly scans the room and doesn't find them, breathing a sigh of relief. "Tell me they aren't waiting outside either. They never forgave me for that incident with the mare, I think."
Taking a step back, she looks Harmony up and down before exclaiming "HA! Shit! Look at you!" before she swoops in and scoops her up in a hug tries to lift her off her feet. Failing, she lets go of her and takes a step back to appraise her body. "Damn girl! You've even got real tits now!" she says before reaching up and pressing on them to make sure their real. "You're all grown up! Gods, it's been ages! What like four or five years???"
Tessa ignores the catcalls from the gallery when she confirms the realness of Harmony's chest.
"No they're not..." Harmony begins, before stamping brutally on Tessa's foot as the older girl goes for her chest. It's not an entirely unknown reaction, and she'd be lying if she said that she didn't wear open-at-the-front shirts to highlight her chest, but usually only drunks were so bold, especially in public. Hence the foot-stamping. She just about restrains the follow-up punch to the throat, when the thought occurs. She probably is drunk.
"Five years." She agrees, folding her arms across her chest to prevent Tessa (or anyone else) doing something they'd regret. "I'm here to see the world and have some fun, away from them. They don't know where I am and they aren't going to!" There is a strong hint of teenage petulance in that statement. "Anyways..." She guides Tessa back towards the bar, away from the ginger haired man who looks like she stole his sweets. "What are you doing here?"
Tessa howls in pain when the heel comes crashing down on her toes. She picks up her foot and hops in place several times before looking at Harmony with bewilderment. she cries, reaching out a hand to steady herself on the her attacker's shoulder before she falls down. "That hurt!" she groans, flexing her throbbing foot.
She accepts guidance towards the bar, her steps swaying slightly. When she takes a seat, she scowls at Harmony, still stretching her toes. "You're lucky I had my boots on! You could have broken my toe otherwise. When did you get so strong anyway?"
Tessa turns to the bar and orders "Four alesh!" for them, two a piece. Picking her up, she takes a huge gulp and then turns back to face Harmony. Cross her legs, her short-short skirt rides up too high and shows off the extravagant, lacy white undergarment underneath. Completely oblivious, she leans heavily on her elbow on the bar and looks into Violet's eyes. "Hey Vi," she starts, already forgetting what her friend had asked her moments ago. "I can't believe you're here. Ash in, really here. Of all the sheedy tavernsh in Golarion, I go and run into you in the Sshackles! HA! What are the chancesh?"
She slaps her thigh with her hand, laughing at her own comment.
Tessa reaches back to the bar and slaps the counter twice, splashing some more coin about carelessly. "Two rumsh fer VI AND ME! Make it the good shit this time, eh?"
Harmony reaches out and neatly uncrosses Tessa's leg with a firm nudge of her own. "I see you still don't have any modesty at all." She smiles, and slides all the remaining ales down the bar and out of Tessa's reach. "It's not... entirely... co-incidence. Mother told me that you were coming back from the west, and don't ask how she knew - but she did. So I came out this way and hoped that I'd run into you."
"Oh, and its practice." She adds with a grin. "You aren't the first person who's gone for my chest. Mom taught me how to... discourage people who get grabby. So keep your hands off, unless you want to really get to know me." She adds with a wink, a fair amount of dutch courage filling her for a moment.
Tessa watches the alcohol slide out of her range with a look of confusion. Turning back to Harmony she states "What are you doing!? That'sh moderately-terrible aaale I just paid coin for. I'm not done yet."
"Mother. Mother. Mother. I had just gotten your mother out of my head, I do not want to be shpending any more time thinking about them. Did you really shail all the way down heres to talk about your mothersh?"
The quip about getting to know her betting catches her attention, looking Harmony up and down she folds her arms tries to keep a straight face and asks "Young lady, have you been drinking!? Don't make offersh you don't intend to keep!"
She suddenly remembers why she's here and scans the room looking for someone or something, panic flooding her features. She hops back to her feet unsteadily. "Quick. Wheresh the redhead?!"
"Why?" Harmony asks, reaching out to place a hand on Tessa's shoulder, it's either supportive or restraining, even Harmony isn't entirely sure. "What's so important about him?"
Tessa squints, finding scanning the room more challenging that it should be. She focuses on the crowd but is having trouble finding what she's looking for. Leaning more heavily on Harmony that she realizes, she whispers "I need to. Get shum, uhm. Get shum, uhm. Get shum informashun from him, yeah. He knowsh where he ish."
Turning back to Harmony she say ”I need your help getting him into the shack so I can questshun him.”
"How about we sit here for a little bit longer first?" Harmony suggests gently. "Wait till you're a bit more... ready for an interrogation. Come on." She pulls Tessa back to the barstool. "So? He knows where he is? What's going on? I can help, but no kidnapping."
The redhead turns to Vi and sticks our her bottom lip, pouting. ”You’re no fun, looshen up! It’s jusht a lil kidnapping’, not even a proper one! I’ll let him go when I’m done, I shwear!”
Tessa gives up searching the room and steadies herself again, plopping back into her stool. She remarks ”Whooooa.” and grabs Harmony’s shoulder again, her head spinning. ”The room ish shpinning. I need shum rum to clear my head.”
"How about some of this?" Harmony replies, snagging a half empty tankard of what looks like water. She takes a sniff and pushes it away with eyes watering. "Ok! Not that one. Barkeep! Ale, well watered."
The two young women lean heavily on the bar, Tessa's red hair hanging past her face and Harmony's dark locks swept back over the shoulder in an unconscious gesture.
"I sailed down here to get away." Harmony admits quietly after a minute. Much of the attention at the bar had finally fallen away after neither violence or intimacy developed further between the girls. "Oppara is just so... stifling. Everyone knows me and there's nowhere I can get away. Besides, Louis is about to inherit from his godfather and everything is all 'Louis this' and 'Louis that'. 'Two members of the same family in the senate - completely against precedent!'" Her impression of upper class Taldane accents are superb, and completely at odds with the dirty, alcohol stained surroundings.
"I just had to get away. I'm old enough to have my own adventures - see the world. So here I am! Seeing the world."
The bartender finally provides not one, but two ales and Harmony sweeps the first one up.
"To new sights and old friends!" She declares.
Tessa isn't able to taste the difference between the watered down ale and whatever else she had been drinking by this point. She nods along while Harmony talks, agreeing with the principle of what she's saying.
She rests her left elbow on the bartop, leaning her head on Vi's shoulder. "I hear ya. After my parentsh were killed, I never wanted to return to Taldor ever again. I don't missh the shtuffinessh. No one to tell me what to do, no shtupid partiesh or pretending to shay nishe shtuff to shtupid old men."
She lifts her head up and slams her mug against Harmony's a little too enthusiastically, splashing water-ale on the woman's arm. Climing up on top of the bar she shouts "Hear hear! Lashey and Vi REUNITE!" she declares enthusiastically, raising her mug into the air above her head and splashing some more onto the counter nearby, teetering unsteadily as she sways back and forth..
Silence falls between the two women for a while as they drink their ale in companionable silence. Around them the tavern settles back into its usual quiet hum of conversation and the two are gradually forgotten by the majority of the bar patrons.
A few minutes later Harmony looks up from her drink.
"I'm sorry about your parents." She says quietly. "Their deaths were announced in Oppara, funerals and honors for servants of the state and all that." She pauses another long moment. "I wish I could have been there for you."
Tessa drains her beverage, holding the mug to her face until it's completely empty. Holding her mouth open and waiting for the final drops to drip in as she shakes it, she half falls, half drops to the bartop as she drops her mug and her bottom hits the bartop unceremoniously, grunting in pain with an "Ooof. Ow. That hurt."
She dangles her legs and kicks them back and forth as somber thoughts begin to flood her mind. "Me too. I didn't think I'd lose them so young. I washn't ready. I missh mother explaining to me for eightieth time that rolling around in the dirt with the boys was not lady like as she tried to straighten the knotsh from my hair. I missh father scolding me for being too hasty with my form and not being payshent enough. I missh..."
She snaps out of a daze, blinking several times. She is staring at the floor, her legs having stopped swinging awhile ago. She doesn't know how long she's been staring at the floor, but she time has elapsed. When she looks up at Harmony she can tell that she's probably been zoned out for awhile now. "I'm going to kill him when I find him. I'm-No! Shit! Where is he? I'm here to get info Vi. Ugh is he still here?"
Tessa scans the room for her red headed sailor, hoping to still find him waiting for her but noticing his seat is now vacant. Groaning more loudly she says "VVIIiiii! He's gone! Unff. I neeeeeeed info from him!"
She hops to her feet unsteadily, the room suddenly spinning again. She reaches out and steadies herself, trying to get a grasp as exhales a long, deep breath.
Harmony, less drunk than her friend, catches Tessa as she stumbles, and then pulls her long curls away from her face as she doubles over. After the moment passes she eases her friend back onto the stool and shifts her own stool closer so that she can continue to hold Tessa up.
"Who Tessa? You keep saying you need information to find someone, but I don't know who you're talking about! I'll help if you let me in. You know I will. But you are not chasing this man for information like this!"
Trying to focus, Tessa blows out a long breath. She says incredulously ”HIM. The Kraken. The man that shtole my parentsh for me!”. She pauses, realizing she’s been unclear. ”Okay, he’sh not here, but they shay that ginger I wash trying to proposhishion earlier? Well he was the cook on his sship three montshs back.”
When she looks at Harmony’s disbelief, she groans ”VIIiii! C'mon! I know it’sh not much, but it’s a lead and it’s all I have. I don’t know hish name or where he ish, but I heard big G over there might know more. I am going to let him get me drunk, take me shomewhere to a room and then I’m going to make him talk to me with the pointy end of my blade shomewhere he doeshn’t want it.”
"And where is your blade?" Harmony asks pointedly. The object of discussion is currently on the floor where it fell after one of Tessa's many stumbles. "We can find him tomorrow, catch flies with honey rather than vinegar. You aren't in a fit state for this tonight Lacey. You're drunker than Aunt Sara after an election night!"
Tessa's hand moves quickly to her side and says "Right where it alwaysh-" as she pats her side repeatedly. "It'sh uhh. Erm. Oh." She looks about on the floor and then frowns. "Howd that get down there?"
Turning to face Harmony, she leans in extra close and squints her eyes as he tries to focus better "Oh!. You shneaky devil, you! Disharming a shlightly intoxshicated woman ishn't polite."
At the mention of too much to drink Tessa nods affirmatively but says "No. Well. Maybe not that rum."
Frowning, she reaches down and rubs her foot. She wrinkles her forehead and complains "My foot hurtsh. Did I fall?"
"Twice..." Harmony replies, voice both amused and weary.
With a sigh she leans back on the bar and yawns, rubbing her eyes. Straining to open her eyes wide, she turns at looks at Harmony "Thish ish a dream, ishn't it? You're not really here. I can shay whatever I want then shince ishn't real."
She decides this is a fact in her own head and says "I've misshed you sho much. It getsh lonely out on the shea. Thank you for coming to my dream."
She tries to scoot her chair closer so she can rest her head on Harmony's shoulder "I'm fine. Just a moment. Okay? I'm not," she pauses as tremendous yawn escapes her her mouth, and she strains to keep her eyes open. "I'm uhm. I'm not..."
Leaning her head on Harmony's shoulder, she closes her eyes just for a second.
"Typical." Harmony replies in an amused tone as she tries to stifle the yawn that Tessa sets off. Oddly it seems very hard to suppress, and Tessa's red hair looks invitingly soft...
Harmony puts her head down on top of Tessa's, just for a moment...
A young woman disembarks from the Bristling Pony late at night, with all her wordy possessions stuffed in a disappointingly small pack. A few sailors lean over the railing, watching her go. With no cry's of farewell they look more like guards to make sure she doesn't try and come back.
Sacked. Again.
Polli was furious. Why do so many people insist on this myth of Bedside Manner. She is a doctor, patching up idiots who get drunk and stab each other or fall off a mast in the middle of a clear f!+$ing day. Why should she be expected cuddle the fools as well? Be Nicer, Stop yelling at me... idiot children
And the captain! The Fancy pants lauded lover of the Pony. He saw a female doctor and just ASSUMED!!! Yes, she went overboard with the whole making his hair fall out bit, but he started it.
....
Sighing, she tells herself "No time for anger, Polli" though it would be nice to set the ship on fire, just a bit. She instead needed to find another job, since money didn't just appear to starving wizard doctors.
Luckily Port Peril had bars and in bars were sailors. Drunk sailors who WILL start a fight and WILL need stitches. The best way to get a job is by just starting doing it.
This Formidably Maid looks promising.
“This place is a cess pool” Polli groaned. The smell was the worst of it too. Piss, heaping layers of piss, worked into the wood over the years. Pausing at the doorway, the woman pulls off her spectacles to clean them, a habit that never helped much, her eyes really were shit. The practice helped calm her, sometimes.
Pushing them back up her nose, she looks around. Piles of sailors drinking and being loud. Two prostitutes sleeping on each other, and an open table there by itself. Well something good at least. To get to it required passing one bunch with a sailors who clearly missed the attention of the sleeping prostitutes, “Oi, elf!” one called out to her.
“I'm not an elf!” Polli snapped loudly before he could finish his sentence, which undoubted would include the words 'mount' and 'mast'.
“But the ears?” he was drunk, but she doubted it actually hurt his IQ.
“Yes, my ears are pointed so I MUST be an elf. Brilliant deduction. Your face looks like a goat's ass, so am I safe to assume your mother was a cloven obstinate herd animal? Making you a half-Billie or what's the term for a castrated goat, yes a whethers, since it is obvious you are without male genitalia of any f++*ing kind! Leave Me ALONE!” she'll quickly turn from them, hoping to make it to her table without any more fuss or retaliation.
Once there she'll order the advertised 'famous' spiced stew and water. While she would love to drown her sorrows in spirits, this place would not be a great choice to pass out in, she thinks.
Harmony stirs somewhat as a horrible racket makes its way to her ears, but she's so comfy right now...
Donomsail steps down from the wagon and gives her robes a quick look to make sure that her skin is covered. Satisfied that she will not reveal her odd features she steps away from the wagon and toward the noise of the town. Separating herself from the rest of the travelers Donomsail leans against a wall and inhales deeply, taking in the smells of Port Peril, the salt of the sea and the fish being unloaded onto the dock. The sounds of the seamen as they call out to each other in what she assumes are good-natured jibes reassuringly reminding her that whatever her destiny is the path to finding it begins here. Deborah's Blessings that's the name of the ship Veh told her to look for. "Captain Sarneé, he's a Halfling unusually pale and with long blonde hair. Veh said he is an old friend and will allow me to work for my passage. " She says to herself once again unaware that she is talking outloud. With a harsh cough Donamsail decides that before she looks for Captain Sarneé she needs a drink to wash out the dust from her travel. "The Formidably Maid, this looks like a good place for a drink. Close to the docks and boats if he isn't in here there's a good chance someone knows where to find him." Unaware that she is talking outloud she is also unaware of the people passing by, giving her odd looks as they can't help but hear her talking. Stepping to the door she pauses for a moment as the sounds of raucous revelry greet her. "Welp, what's the worst that can happen? After all I did come here to find out what Gozreh's plans for me are." With that she pushes open the doors and steps into the cool darkened room.
The door to the Formidably Maid swings open once again and in walks a young man stinking of fish. He is slightly taller than the average man but with lithe limbs and a narrow frame. What really stands out, though, is his thick green hair which seems a bit damp. He looks around at the crowded room and then makes his way toward an empty seat at the bar, next to two sleeping women.
this doesn't seem like the kind of place I'd want to fall asleep... especially if I was a woman... though, by the smell of them, it may be that they passed out more than fell asleep... I wonder if they were celebrating or trying to drink away some trouble... either way, I can try to keep an eye on them 'til they wake up...
He quietly pulls out the few silver he'd earned on a fishing skiff today, and cleaning the nets after, and counts them out. Helping old fishermen didn't pay nearly as well as being out on the open sea would, but at least he could afford something hearty to eat and somewhere somewhat soft to sleep. When the barkeep stops to serve him, he orders a bowl of spiced stew, some bread, and an empty mug. While he waits for his food, he watches a mostly toothless Chellish man creep towards the sleeping women; when the man gets close he gives him a little wave and says, "sorry, they're both with me." The man sneers at him for a moment then, thankfully, slinks off without causing a scene.
When his food arrives, he dumps out the two women's cups and fills them, along with his own empty cup, with fresh water that he conjures from the air. He carefully sets their mugs beside them and then takes a few thirsty gulps from his. He listens, with some amusement, to the stories of a sailor at one of tables behind him while he slowly eats. By the time he finishes he feels very tired and looks around for the barkeep to ask if they have any rooms he can rent. Unable to locate him, and not wanting to abandon the women... and having a little more trouble thinking clearly than he felt like he should... the young man mutters, "sorry... I don't mean to intrude, I just... need... I'm just gonna sleep here, with you, for a..." before resting his head on the raven-haired woman's back and promptly joining their slumber.
A woman at the bar chuckles and shakes her head as she sees the green-haired man join the two women in slumber. She is tall and solidly built, with dark skin and hair, and wears showy, scant clothes that display her muscular physique. "A lot of lightweights here tonight!" she says as she finishes off the dregs of her own drink.
The rest of the evening becomes something of a blur after that. Somebody says something the other doesn't like, bottles are broken, chairs are tossed. Punches and kicks fly, with the woman seeming to dance her way through the melee. Until somebody lands a lucky strike, and the lights go out...
Donomsail pauses for a moment just inside the door, giving her eyes a chance to adjust to the dim room and the raucous noise. Spying an empty stool at the bar she slides between the two smelly and inebriated pirates to order a strong ale. Once it is set in front of her she purposefully overpays. "I wonder where he might be. Captain Sarneé of Deborah's Blessing. Is it possible that anyone here might know of his whereabouts?" Waiting just a moment until she realizes that she won't get a response from the server Donomsail takes her drink and starts to walk around the room, looking for a sailor that is sober enough to get information from. "Not those three, they're barely holding each other up." She quickly dismisses the two ladies and the Undine. Spying the dark-skinned muscular woman drinking alone at a table she steps up next to her."Certainly is crowded in here tonight, can't hardly find a place to sit or even a person one might be looking for. Sure would be nice to have place to sit and possibly someone to talk to." She stands, waiting for an invitation to sit down. Patient but not infinitely so if she doesn't get a response in a few moments she will start looking elsewhere.
"Hmmm.. this stew is surprisingly good." Polli smiles, finding a bright light in a otherwise dung filled day. Raising her hand to order another, she thunks forehead first on the table. Out like a light.
The muscular woman looks the fiendish newcomer up and down. At length, she nods. "You are welcome to sit here, friend. Have a drink and tell me your story."
Sitting down Donomsail takes a long drink before she speaks again, unaware as she does that her blue-green hood slips back just far enough for a glimpse of the curled horns on the sides of her brick-red skull. "I'm new here and looking for a ship, Deborah's Blessing, or its captain a Halfling that goes by the name of Laric Sarneé. The Domineé of my temple, a Half-Elf known as Veh Troujoju, said he had room on his ship for someone willing to work for their passage. Of course I suppose it doesn't matter if it's his ship or a dif'rent one. Gozreh never made it clear what shape my path was going to take, I suppose that's part of the test innit? Make sure you do your to keep your balance as you follow where His breeze'll take you, less'ntil She claims you back to the waters eh? I'm guessin' it don't matter much does it? His name? I mean the 'portant thing is who I'm lookin' for not who sent me to..." Her speech trails off as she becomes aware that she is actually speaking aloud to someone she doesn't know."Wish I could do this better. She must think I'm a complete chowderhead the way I keep rambling on of nothin' she cares nothin' about." At that point she drops her head and her nervousness shows in her hands smoothing down her hood and making sure that none of her skin is showing.
Marisan's strange silver eyes widen slightly when she catches a glimpse of what is hidden beneath the other woman's hood. Demon! comes the first thought to her mind. In the past, she has tangled with a handful of Bekyar warriors who were slaves to their fiendish masters. They bore marks of darkness similar to this strange woman. But another voice cuts through the fear, that of her mother's, chiding her for judging a person before truly knowing them. She forces herself to take a deep breath and listen to the tiefling's words.
She speaks of Gozreh as her patron, not a devil or demon. Not a threat, then. At least, not for now.
"I do not know of that particular ship, friend, but there are plenty of others to choose from. I am sure few would turn away a willing priestess of the Wind and the Waves, but there are many who might take advantage of a wide-eyed pup such as yourself. This is Port Peril, after all, and the city lives up to both of its names. But stick with me and I can show you a good time while keeping you safe. Marisan Nkosi, at your service, friend."
She offers her hand to the priestess, but once clasped, she leans close and whispers in her ear. "And best to keep that hood up, yeah? We don't want to draw attention of the wrong sort."
The first sensation you have is as of someone pounding on your head with a hammer. Your thoughts search back to try to remember whether you had enough drink to warrant the ongoing throbbing you feel. Perhaps you drank more than you thought, though, for even as you lay against the rough boards beneath you, the world still sways.
Before you get a chance to gather your thoughts into a coherant semblance of awakeness, the harsh light of a lantern painfully spears through the dark room. Heavy pairs of boots pound against the floor as easily half a dozen rough-looking types barge into your awareness.
The lantern is held in the hand of a sneering man with a braided beard and a mouth full of gold teeth. His body is tall and thin, and even his long coat and heavy boots fail to give any impression of strength or bulk. An expression that might be mistaken for pain but which is clearly an attempt at a smile bruises the man’s face as he cracks the whip in his other hand.
"Still abed with the sun over the yardarm? On your feet, ye filthy swabs! Get up on deck and report for duty before Cap’n Harrigan flays your flesh into sausage skins and has Fishguts fry ye up for breakfast!" he screams at you.
The men with him wield saps in their hands and look as if they'd like any pretense to put them to good use.
Rising to your feet, you realize that you've been searched at the very least, for your clothes are out of sorts as if someone roughly went through them looking for items of interest. The thought that you've been ... handled ... while unconscious is unsettling.
Contessa doesn't need to think too hard to remember why. Too much rum. Much too much.
"Ohhh... my. My head. she groans as she pushes herself up and looks around. She just gets her eyes open enough to see Harmony when the bright light nearly blinds her, her left hand quickly moving to shield her eyes.
"What? Captain Who?" she tries to comprehend what's going on, her hand feeling around for her rapier. Not finding it, panic immediately begins to set in. Taking her feet while still holding her head she tries to get her eyes all the way open. Had I slept with the ginger and forgotten where I am? How is this possible?
Harmony is still here?
She approaches the man with the whip and says softly as if it would make her head stop pounding "Now you listen here, I think there's been a terrible misunderstanding. I'm not quite sure why I'm sleeping in your hold or why you've taken most of my possessions, but my friend and I will be out of your way and leaving momentarily. I'll gladly pay you for your time if you can just help me sort this out. I'm sure we can work out an agreement."
The dark-haired man sneers and there's a sharp crack. An instant later Tessa feels fire along her thigh. Two of the other sailors step closer, hefting their saps.
"I wasn't askin', I was tellin'! Now haul your sorry selves up on deck! NOW!" the man yells into her face.
Tessa's eyes had been open halfway at best, struggling to find the strength to open all of the way. She finds inspiration in an unlikely place, her thigh.
Squeezing her eyes shut, the pain in her leg burns and seemingly wakens her all of the way up. Opening her eyes wide now, she points her finger at the man with the whip and says through clenched teeth. "Oh! Oh! You're going to regret that shit! Gods help you if think you're going to sit over there and crack whips on me all gods-be-damned-too-early-in-the-f%+&ing-morning long!"
She grimaces in pain again, looking down at her leg before looking at the men with the saps and asking "Surely you boys know there's been a misunderstanding."
Looking over her shoulder she shouts "VI! Get up! We're leaving. Now!" before turning back to the men blocking her path. "You got five seconds to get out of my way."
"You have a choice Smart-Mouth," the dark-haired man says with a gold grin. "You can head on up to the deck under yer own steam or the swabs here ..." he gestures at the other sailors who heft their saps and grin in anticipation, "... can give you a tap and carry your useless and completely defenseless bodies up there ourselves." He chuckles. "But I should warn ya. Folks here ain't the respectable types and might just take liberties on the way."
One of the sailors, a large woman with big ears, looks Tessa up and down and smirks. She licks her lips and blows Tessa a taunting kiss.
"Make yer choice," the man says and raises his whip.
Azadi wakes when the thumping starts. He opens his eyes in the dark and looks up at the timbers above him.
that doesn’t look like an inn roof... it looks like I’m below deck on a ship... it feels like I’m at sea too... either that or I’m pretty sick...
When the light appears and the shouting starts he leaps to his feet and looks at the approaching men, then down at the other waking people, then back at the approaching men.
I don’t recognize any of these men... those two women are the two who were sleeping at the bar... wait... I feel asleep there too, didn’t I... I must have worked harder on those nets than I realized... so, where are we now... I must have been brought here with them, I wonder what they’ve gotten me into...
When the red headed woman gets up and starts talking to the man with the whip, he listens carefully. When the situation starts to go south, he steps up towards her and offers, ”excuse me miss, but maybe the best way to get to the bottom of this misunderstanding would be to head up on deck and meet this captain? Surely the captain will know what’s going on?”
Marisan groggily gets to her feet, nursing a bruise on her temple. She realizes somebody has rifled through her pack, but fortunately she didn't have much to take, and they didn't find her little ace in the hole. She sees others from the bar, including her fiendish drinking companion. As the redhead begins to invite trouble, the Mwangi woman wisely keeps her mouth shut and head down for the time being.
Tessa folds her arms across her chest as the gold-tooth a+*#*~$ threatens her. When the big eared lady blows her a kiss, she takes a half-step back away from her. She's just about ready to tell gold teeth who is going to be taken liberties when the pointy eared man gets up and starts talking.
Getting out of this room is an excellent place to start so she nods. "Good idea. Perhaps the captain can explain what's going on here. I assume you didn't voluntarily choose to wake up here either, green hair?"
She only gives Azadi half of her attention, watching the raises whip with the other half.
"I only ate the stew..." a pained voice mutters behind the others "YOU SPIKED THE STEW!" the voice yells in anger, then whimpers in pain. "I'm going to burn this entire ship down.. just give me a minute..." the voice, belonging to a willowy pointed eared woman, trails off as she starts hunting for something in her pack... "My... my spell book, Where is MY SPELL-- ouch... my spellbook?"
”No, I didn’t...” Azadi confirms to the red headed woman. He opens his mouth to add something more but then pauses and slowly closes it again.
don’t tell her you fell asleep with her and her friend... this isn’t the time for another misunderstanding, nor to be trying to explain what happened... what did happen, actually, we can’t have all just happened to fallen asleep and been mistaken for someone... I had the stew too... sh!t...”
The green haired man frowns and looks around the room. He nods to the other women who have woken up, and then says, ”That looks like the stairs, over there... shall we?”
Being as gold-teeth won't releases his whip held high, Tessa nods to green hair and backs up a few steps to Harmony's groaning body on the floor. Reaching down, she slips Harmony's arm over her neck and pulls her to her feet. "We're leaving. Can you stand? Yes, my head hurts too. Come on."