”Let’s return those weapons first, just to be safe,” offers Ellen.
Jadren eyes the undead parrot with dismay. "It seems like a very convenient that the bird of death has reappeared at the very moment that the skeleton has been "destroyed." Perhaps it is the brains behind this entire scandalous operation. We should follow it - ready for anything!"
Before he can continue through the doorway, he notes Ellen's comment and nods in agreement. "Aye, we should return both the sword and the spear."
He glances down at their bloody wounds. "And perhaps we should take some time to heal ourselves..."
Ellen, still bleeding, her fine suit torn across the middle and her face slightly dented on one side, is quick to agree.
Captain Renlock’s trusty evil and possessed clockwork parrot leads the characters deep underground and then down a long, meandering passage. After almost an hour of following Cawlo, the pirates arrive in a dimly lit chamber. Thin shafts of light peek out from behind a curtain that hangs on the opposite wall. In the center of the chamber is a massive wooden chest, its lid open. Unfortunately, all that is inside is a handful of old, corroded copper coins and a few silver pieces. Cawlo lands atop the chest and the voice of Captain Renlock emerges from the bird one last time.
Cawlo hops precariously across the lid of the nearly empty treasure chest as the voice of Captain Renlock echoes from its metal beak once more.
“My friends. You truly were the finest crew I ever had the pleasure of sailing with and I am sorry to say that the promised treasure was a ruse. I hope you will forgive me, but I turned it over to the Andoran captain in exchange for his promise to be lenient on all of you. That treasure bought your freedom and I can’t think of a finer purchase.”
The bird grows silent for a moment, before leaping off the chest to perch atop the moldering drapery on the far side of the chamber. The voice continues. “But fear not my friends, because an old pirate like me always has one more secret, and this one is for you.” With that, the parrot tugs at the curtain, which falls away to reveal a short passage that leads to a secret cove hidden on the far side of the island. There, sitting above the waves in a dry dock, is a glorious sailing sloop in near-perfect condition! The parrot continues. “I had a few enchantments cast to make sure it was ready for you when the time was right. The ship is yours. Take it and see the world that I never did.”
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Ellen crosses her fingers over her chest and tilts her head.
"Well, it's a shame that the treasure turned out to be a ruse, but you know what they say..."
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Jadren stares at the beautiful ship with wonderment. "You mean we have an opportunity to get back out on the open seas again, but this time not as pirates but as servants of truth and justice and the law!?! Why, this is a splendid idea!" Turning to his comrades, he observes, "Just think of all the time we'll have aboard ship to truly study the Acts of Iomedae! I can hardly think of a more exciting way to spend our time. I'm sure you will all agree, once you've had a chance to study the subtleties and nuances contained therein..." Jadren pats the parrot fondly on the head. "I'm sorry I wronged you - perhaps I can make it up to you - how would you like to be our new ship's mascot?"
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"Servants of what now? Don't get me wrong here, but a high-life on the seas sounds awesome, but we should do this on our terms. No offense Jadren, but I don't think swapping one boss for another is exactly in the spirit of what the Captain intended when he left Her for us. I mean, look at her! She's gorgeous! Let's just get her in the water and let the chips fall where they may."
Elsir breaks a toe kicking the empty chest, "STUPID SON OF AN A+#@*+* CAPTAIN! Yeah sure Elsir, stake out another month's rent on this stupid ass quest and get NOTHING for it. Sure Elsir, stay freaking cursed for the rest of your life? Who cares. Your old 'friends' certainly don't."
When Cawlo reveals there is another secret he rolls his eyes and follows along, "Let me guess, an old broken spyglass or something that points at a sign that says 'the real treasure is the friends you met along the way' or something else stupid. Maybe I can sell the plaque for a few copper and be closer to getting this DAMN RING OFF!"
He pulls at a large skull-faced ring on his hand, it doesn't budge. You hear a popping sound and he curses.
_____________
He looks at the ship, "Well, it's a nice ship. I guess. Magicked up too. Could sell it for a decent price. Might be enough for the casting. But I expect my old crewmates will want to go sail it around willy nilly and I'll continue being screwed."
Elsir and Jadren are pains in the asses for the first couple voyages. Dev and Ellen finally get to their wits end and when they find a hidden treasure chest after a fantastical journey, they suggest a buyout of their ship shares. Trading away their own shares of the gold to the bossy one and the jerk, they leave them at the next port and sail off with a ship all their own!
Sadly though, day to day operations of the little sloop is a bit beyond their means. One decent storm and they barely made it through with the sad resolution that a couple new crew-members might be necessary.
Not quite sure how to recruit, they stop at a small port town and head in to find something to eat. A barker at the docks is advertising for a regionally recognized chef working at a newly opened restaurant that catches their attention.
Akimi was in the middle of arguing over the age of the Sandy Dervin truffles in front of them and whether they were actually from Andoran at all, because frankly these looked like Nirmathi Whites and by the gods, they wouldn't be caught dead paying those prices for Nirmathi Whites and--
--and now Akimi was following two strangers who seemed to own their own private sloop. They should be getting back to the restaurant so Rorden could take all the credit for their ingenious mint-truffle rodent turnovers and call Akimi an "idiot sandwich" again, but they couldn't stop their paws from padding quietly behind the duo. Maybe it was seeing not one but two fellow kitsune in one place (a rare enough occurrence, to be sure) or maybe it was the fact that a sloop was being manned (so far as they could tell) by only two beleaguered-looking crewmates.
You have been thinking about a traveling restaurant, Akimi muses. Maybe it couldn't hurt to give them the pitch?
Not that Akimi actually had a pitch ready. The thought had been one of about a thousand hairbrained schemes that drift through the kitsune's head to keep sane during the chaos of running Rorden's stupid restaurant. Why did they even settle with this guy? They'd started a real following in Kasai and Absalom! People knew their name there! Sometimes! Even if they usually misspelled it or put their given name before their family name! It was something! Heck, in Korvosa, the crowd at All the World's Meats had started calling them "Dr. Truffles," which Akimi found absolutely delightful.
But Akimi still hesitates. They don't know these people from Daikitsu. They could be pirates, or killers, or worse, used cart salesmen. Akimi decides to follow a bit longer and see where they go.
One of the foxes is... short. Barely five foot even, but with a sturdy-- albeit, er, "top-heavy"-- build. For a kitsune, in fact, she's borderline ripped.
All that isn't particularly well-hidden beneath her clothes-- a well-cropped jacket over a noble's blouse and a very fancy pair of trousers.
"Do you think Elsir will ever get over his whole, like, deal?" asks the vulpine woman of her compatriot. "I've never seen a man create so many of his own problems before. Whatever god's in charge of keeping track of that probably has him in the running for a world record."
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A well dressed man considers his response. His dark cloak hangs off shoulders, draping down to mid-calf. Ruffles from his high collared shirt lay atop a crimson vest. Each silver button down the front is polished to a near mirror-like finish. "It is clear that Elsir is his own worst enemy. A nemesis to which he seems destined to fall prey at every given opportunity. Perhaps we should have a drink to commiserate his loss."
The woman sniffs the air-- not that her sense of smell is especially keen, but still, it's just one more way to get a sense of one's surroundings.
"I'm sure he'd find some way to be insulted that we drank a mug that could have been his," she smirks. "Or I suppose he might say that we... tank-erred."
Dev and Ellen easily notice their tails are swooshing in contentment from the excellent meal. It's too bad Rorden Gamsey wasn't available, they would have given him quite the complement for his cooking skill. They also notice their other tail, the one that is trying to sorta not be noticed following them around town.
Akimi spends an inordinate amount of time browsing hats entirely too small for their somewhat oversized fox head (though they admit the bowler hat is rather fetching) as they keep one eye on the other two kitsune leaving the restaurant. Why they don't just approach the pair is honestly beyond them. Why are you being so coy, you goof? Just go talk to them!
Akimi, of course, does no such thing. If they're honest with themself, it's actually kind of fun playing in this game of quasi-cloak-and-dagger. Perhaps they're adding to their mystique!
... Well, probably not, but one never knows.
It is currently about half past one, or early afternoon if you don't have a fancy timepiece.
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Akimi blinks in surprise at the big woman, a hilariously undersized trilby dangling off their large, not-human-shaped head. "Oh? Erm... yes? I mean. Thank you."
They watch the two kitsune farther ahead, frowning and wringing their hands for a moment. They don't see other kitsune very often, let alone two at once. Akimi has a powerful urge to run up to the pair and tell them that they were the one who made the mint-truffle rodent turnovers, not that rude lunkhead Gamsey, but really, what would be the point? It would just come off as desperate. Maybe they should take a quick job and get out of this town, try and get back to Kasai, or Absalom. Somewhere they're appreciated.
Their mind set, Akimi strides off in the direction of Tamily's game hall, but a call stops them in their tracks.
"Oi! Foxy!"
Akimi turns around to see the hat vendor staring at them. Flustered, Akimi huffs, "I'm sure you think you're giving me a compliment, but calling me 'foxy' is neither flattering nor appropriate, and frankly it's a little offensive. Please do not cat-call me--" ("hey!" a nearby catfolk huffs indignantly) "--sorry, please do not make unwanted advances at me again, it is not appreciated. Understood?" They plant their fists on their hips and glower at the vendor.
He clears his throat and points at the trilby still on Akimi's head.
Their ears droop. "Oh. Right. Yes."
Akimi puts the trilby back, and after a moment's panicked hesitation, grabs a slate-gray bowler and drops a few silver in the man's palm. "S-sorry. Good day." They move to leave, then over their shoulder says, "But seriously, don't call kitsune 'foxy,' it's rude." They then rush off with their fancy new bowler hat.
Once away from the scene of their shame, they take their time walking toward Tamily Tanderveil's game hall, wandering through the fish market, relishing the pungent odor of fresh-caught fish of all shapes and sizes, eyeing the salmon in particular. A good fillet of coho with a lemon-butter sauce and a light honey glaze would pair well with some garlic couscous...
Unable to switch off, Akimi wanders the fish market and builds recipes in their head as they wait for five o'clock to roll around.
The sounds of chatter and laughter spill from the Otari Fishery’s open doors alongside warm and welcoming lamplight. Within, a few dozen common folk gather around rough tables with cards, dice, tokens, and other game pieces scattered among them.
A friendly and freckled human woman pops up and grins in greeting—Tamily Tanderveil. Her peg leg, a red-and-white striped affair with a bright blue bow at the top, thunks against the floor as she hurries forward. “I’m so glad you came! Welcome! Can I get you something to drink? Snacks?”
She gestures toward an empty table in a near corner, and with a flurry of clattering activity, she sets out bowls of fried vegetables, a platter of sausage rolls, plates of cookies, and mugs of frothy ale. Tamily lifts her mug in a toast.
“Now, everyone knows that a good adventuring team needs a base of operations, right? Your hideout! Headquarters! A place to sleep that doesn’t charge by the night, right? And I have just the place for you—an old fish camp I used to run, right up the road from here. I haven’t been using it since I opened this place up, and I owe you all something big. If you want it, it’s all yours! Just be careful when you check it out, since it’s been empty for a while, okay? No telling what’s holed up in there since we left. Oh, and don’t mind Blue Finley—they’re harmless.”
She eyes the four foxes, especially since they slipped in mostly separately, "You all are the Mighty Kitsune Adventuring squad I've heard so much about, right? The ones that saved the town a couple months ago? If not, I'd feel right foolish randomly inviting four people who didn't even know each other just because they were all the same race." Her eyes get a bit wide, waiting to see if she has committed a massive faux paus.
Akimi steps uncertainly into the loud, boisterous game hall, clutching their satchel in one hand. They feel something inside it twitch, and a small ringing tone that sounds like if a bell became mildly irritated at someone. Akimi gives the satchel a little shake. "Shush, Tama! Not now." The bell-like noise tones again, this time in disappointment, but the satchel stops twitching. Akimi smiles in pleasant surprise at the purveyor's unexpectedly friendly greeting and follows her to the table in the corner.
Akimi blinks at the other three table occupants, all of whom are other kitsune! What a statistically unlikely event! Serendipitous! One of them is a complete stranger, but they recognize the two kitsune they'd been following earlier. Serendipitous! they think again gleefully as they slide into one of the chairs and dive right into the sausages, munching happily. Ooh, these are really good! Didn't expect such fine sausage from a bar. I would have used paprika instead of cayenne, but it has some nice kick now. Maybe I'll give that a shot next time I make sausage...
They are in the middle of shoving half a sausage in their muzzle when Tamily says she 'owes them one.' The sausage halts its journey, dangling from Akimi's teeth like a fat, greasy meat cigarette. Their ears droop a little. Oh, dear. She thinks I'm someone else. Ohhh, bugger.
Akimi panics internally for a moment. They certainly won't have a place to stay once they quit Rorden's stupid restaurant. There's no way they're sticking around that dump doing all the work for none of the credit. But no steady pay means they can't afford to keep up their room at the inn for much longer.
Akimi flashes back to their childhood spent mostly in the wilds of Minkai, hunting field mice and sleeping in a shoddily self-made burrow in their fox shape. It had been a lonely life, and the moment they'd slept in a real bed, they knew they would never be happy going back. You went and spoiled yourself, stupid fox.
Even still, they don't feel right lying to this incredibly kind woman. They clear their throat. "Um, I can't really speak for these others, but I do believe at least in my case, there has been a slight misunderstanding. I am no hero. I am, in fact, Miyazaki Akimi. You might know me by the nickname 'Dr. Truffles.' Maybe you've heard of me?"
Akimi clears their throat. "Anyway. As to the very fine meal, I will gladly compensate you for that."
Akimi pauses to glance at the other three at the table. "You said four heroes, right? That would mean at least one is missing. I'm not really doing anything right now. My last business venture went sideways--" they quickly mutter something under their breath with a great deal of vitriol; it sounds suspiciously like 'shove that greasy jerk in a meat pie and see if it still tastes good' but you can't be entirely certain "--er, yes. Anyway I'm available to help you clear this place out for you. I'm not great in a fight, but I am well-trained in the healing arts. I'm happy to accompany some real heroes and see actual adventurers at work!"
Ellen is happy to take a seat where directed-- they were summoned here, after all, so it only made sense. She plops her foxy behind down and hesitates to eat before she learns what she's here for.
Assassination attempts weren't common for her, after all, but... well, no careful king had ever died of food poisoning.
One had died of starvation, though, if she recalled correctly...
"Although this is an interesting situation," Ellen adds with a grin, turning her face not to Tamily, but to Akimi. "I'd been meaning to ask why we were being given an extra tail, anyway. If you're not affiliated with our host, then...?"
Akimi blushes hard enough that it creeps through their facial fur. "Oh. Erm. Sorry. I work at Gamsey's Kitchen, the restaurant where you ate earlier, and I was... well..." They debate whether or not to tell the duo the truth about who made their lunch. "It's just... well, it's not every day you see another kitsune, especially in a smaller port like this. And two! I admit, I was curious. And you have a ship! I--" They realize they were about to say "I wanted to talk to you about a business proposition" and decides they'd probably have sounded like a scam artist. "Never mind, it was silly. Just good old-fashioned curiosity basically."
And stupid startup ideas. They wisely leave that part out of their response, instead turning to Tamily. "I love your sausages by the way! My compliments to the chef."
They have no idea why they're hesitant to offer the pitch now. Maybe because this meetup was so sudden--and accidental, apparently--that it's throwing them off their game. Well, it was probably a stupid idea anyway.
Akimi sighs and sips their ale. They're not big on drinking--kind of a lightweight, actually--but they might as well enjoy it while it's in front of them. Probably going to have to pay for it now anyway, since I'm not who this lady was looking for. Why not enjoy it? Their luck really turned sour today.
Unless these folks take Akimi up on their offer to be their temporary healer? They certainly have nothing better to do. But why would they? They're not the ones this lady is looking for, either. What a weird day.
Tamily's eyes continue to get wider as none of you seem to indicate you are who she thought you were. But when the conversation turns to indicate you all might still be interested, she calms down.
"Okay, so like I'm really sorry about the assumptions I made. I feel like an ass. And Sir you have my sincerest apologies about guessing you were a kitsune as well, I had heard they could take human forms and you were traveling with another one so..." She trails off, face getting redder.
After finishing her ale she orders another round, "So if you didn't all know it, there were four adventuring foxes that really helped the town out of a pinch a few months ago. We get no word after they left until you all show up on the same day and you can guess the rest." She pauses as the next round is delivered.
"So listen, the food and drink is on me, no question. It's the least I can do as an apology. And if you are all actually interested in my pitch after any questions I'm sure you have, then I'd be happy to extend the same offer to you all."
The sturdily-built vixen leans forward, grinning. "Well, I don't know the other two from Adam, but my accomplice and I are... sort of adventurers. Typically of the seafaring kind, but we were planning on..."
She pauses, her whiskers tilting back and forth for a moment.
"Actually, wait."
She leans in to whisper into Dev's ear:
"Do you think we could two-in-one this? Get some coin, see if those two are interested in hoisting main sails and punching pirates, see if they're any good at it?"
...Other pirates, I mean."
Akimi scratches their chin, unable to hide their relief that they're not paying for the meal. "Ah, well. Yes. I am something of a problem-solver, though the problems I solve tend to be the whodunnit kind. But! I'm a pretty good forensic physician, and I can patch up the living too. In case this is dangerous work. Will this be dangerous work?"
They try to sound nonchalant about it, but there is an unmistakable tinge of excitement in their voice.
"Dangerous? No, certainly not. Well maybe. I mean, there’s always spiders, and sometimes they get scary big. Some of the animals in the woods can tear you up if you’re not watching for them. Like, this time of year, there’s probably a few boars running around, and those things are just always in a bad mood."
She looks at the quiet one, "You uh, interested?"
Akimi's eyes look like they're about to bug out of their head as they stop mid-bite on another sausage. "Giant spiders...?"
They slap a hand down on the table and accidentally spit out an embarrassingly large chunk of sausage.
After a moment of awful, awkward silence, they shrink a little, plucking the errant meat chunk off the table and depositing it in their napkin. "Sorry," they mumble as they wipe their mouth. "I just... I always wanted to see a giant spider. They sound neat."
Daikitsu, they think miserably, please tell me I didn't spray anyone with that outburst...
They are far too embarrassed by their enthusiasm to check, however.
Ellen blinks in the ensuing awkward silence, brushing a spattering of sausage off the once-pristine white of her cheek fluff.
"I'm just glad you didn't get any on my elbow or my shoulder," she says. "I don't take you for a thief, but I'd have to reconsider it if you started casing the joints!"
A slow grin spreads across her face; she is obviously very proud of herself.
Akimi stares at Ellen for several long, uncomfortable moments, eyes growing bigger with each second, until they finally reach their hands out with agonizing slowness.
Finally, they take up one of Ellen's hands in both their own and whisper, awestruck, "Teach me your ways..."
Ellen shoots Dev a grin that clearly says, "See? I am funny!" before turning her dark brown eyes back to Akimi.
"The secret is to be as stupid as possible as often as possible until you learn how to weaponize it," she explains, barely above a whisper herself.
"And then let it give you stuporpowers."
Jacques returns from a rather extended visit to the loo and quickly realizes that the conversation has moved full-speed ahead. No worries! There has yet to be a situation that Jacques Renard cannot handle!
"Madame, as for me, honestly, I cannot recall whether or not it was your village that I saved or not - you know, I save so many hamlets, it's rather difficult to keep them straight. But never mind - you have a fishing camp that you need attended to - but of course, of course, if the pay is right you can always count on old Jacques - not that I'm old, mind you, just a figure of speech, don't you know - but the main point is that for the merest pittance, such a trifle that you will hardly even notice it from your annual accounting, you can count on me to take care of your every problem. What was the problem there, by the way? But never mind, old Jacques - ha ha young but experienced Jacques, I mean to say - will be able to ascertain and resolve your problems without getting a whisker twisted. Ha ha. Just a small joke, don't you know - Twisted Whisker is the name of my band, though with all the adventuring demands on me, I hardly find a moment to perform anymore..."
Jacques trails off and seems to notice his comrades for the first time. "Subcontractors?!? You've already arranged the subcontractors? Excellent - I can see that you are going to be a pleasure to work with. And they seem - uh - quite uh adequate." He pauses for a second or two, as if momentarily distracted, before continuing. "Now, speaking of work, I wonder if it might be possible to discuss some reasonable advance on my fees. Just a small token, nothing you would even notice, don't you know, but I do have, ahem, a few bills to pay... We had ahem some problems getting our security deposit back at the last Twisted Whisker concert don't you know..."
The vixen raises a handpaw dismissively. "Oh, no, consider dinner to be advance enough!" she says. "If you try to pay us in advance, well, we're not gonna take it--"
At a look from Jacques, she repeats: "No! We ain't gonna take it."
Ellen leans in to Dev and whispers:
"If this guy gets on our boat, we're ditching him at first port."
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Ellen shoots Dev a grin that clearly says, "See? I am funny!"
The rogue merely rolls his eyes as he slowly shakes his head.
Finally, they take up one of Ellen's hands in both their own and whisper, awestruck, "Teach me your ways..."
The slap of the palm to Dev's own forehead is quite audible. "Oh for the love of the gods. She's got a convert."
Ellen leans in to Dev and whispers: "If this guy gets on our boat, we're ditching him at first port."
Dev tosses a casual two-fingered salute towards Jacques as he whispers his reply, "Or into the open sea."
Tamily’s constant smile dips for a moment, then recovers, ”Oh yes, you missed the best part, payment! Well it isn’t gold per-say, but in return for cleaning out the camp I will sign over the deed for the place to you. Think about it, a home base to use for whatever. And you have a boat?!? Perfect, now you have a place to dock it for free! Also, one of the buildings could be easily renovated into a stage for your band. No more obscene charges just to play your music, people would flock from all over to come see you thrash away on your instruments. I’d even be happy to put up flyers here.”
"...How far from here did you say this place was? Free docking isn't something to scoff at," muses Ellen. "Shoot, we spent half of that treasure just on docking fees, pretty sure. The half we didn't use to buy out the other two, even."
She glances at Dev with a shrug. "It works for me."
Jacques' face falls at the realization that no cash will be landing in his hand any time soon but he soon brightens at the mention of a permanent and free stage. "Why, I could finally tell that thief Gill Braham what I really think of him! No more promoters, no more rental fees - it's like a dream come true! Madame, say no more, I shall have your camp secured before you can think of it again! Now, uh, which way was it? And, uh, what does it actually need securing from?"
"Spiders," says Ellen, "and maybe feral hogs, but no more than 30-50 of them."
Jacques scoffs. "Thirty or fifty feral hogs?!? Why, did I never tell you of the time that I had a hankering for bacon and personally defeated a very army of feral hogs? Feral hogs to the left, feral hogs to the right, feral hogs in front, yet boldly I rode, and well, into the jaws of those feral hogs!"
"Now spiders, on the other hand, those are no joke. Hopefully this is a mere village rumor to scare the children to bed, and not actually something even such a seasoned adventurer as myself will have to contend with..."
Tamily produces a map from a pouch at her side, unrolls it, and shows the heroes the camp’s location. “It’s right here, about six miles down the road.”
She thinks a second, "Should be about three hours on foot. But did I hear you had a boat? Could be faster, depending on the type of boat and the wind and a bunch of factors."
Akimi stares at Jacques with mild alarm throughout his windy speech. About halfway through, they lean toward Ellen and whisper, [smaller]"When... when does he breathe?"
They snap back to reality upon the drawing forth of the map, and study it carefully, half of a roll clamped between their teeth.
"Spacious," they say with an impressed nod. Except with a muzzle full of bread, it sounds like fafufsh.
They swallow, cough because they just swallowed a huge mouthful of bread, gulp down some of the ale, and say, "This is neat. That kitchen looks great! Definitely bigger than most I've had to work with." They clap their little hands together and sigh wistfully. "Oh, the things I could make! I had an idea of swapping out the mint in my mint-truffle rodent turnovers for something a little spicier! Your sausages inspired me, actually," they add with a wink toward Tamily. "Something hot. I hear there's a rare pepper from arcadia that is absolutely brutal! Go big or go home, amirite? Oh, you three are gonna love it, I promise!"
Akimi is practically bouncing in their seat at this point. "Can we take your ship? I love sailing!"
Ellen raises an eyebrow at Jacques. There's... a lot to unpack there.
But they're not at their final destination yet, so she decides to keep that suitcase buckled.
"Rodent turnovers? Excellent. The only time I've been served rat outside of catfolk lands-- or our own-- they tried to tell me it was chicken, and that made me suspicious of the quality of the whole thing."
"It would be so good to have a proper chef on board, honestly. We could both skip cooking duty... and eating-each-other's-cooking duty."
"Yes! It's an old family recipe, actually, though Grandpa Hiro's recipe originally called for cumin and potatoes instead of mint and cauliflower, but it always tasted a little too starchy for me. Can we go now? I wanna see this place! Maybe there's some rodents nearby I can catch fresh. Squirrel's a little gamey, but if there are any Andoran chipmunks in the area, those are great once you mince it."
Akimi starts to trail off, uncertain if anyone's actually listening, but continues muttering to themself as they look over the map and sip their ale.
At the word of Akimi's turnovers, Jacques' ears perk up with excitement and his whiskers begin to tremble. "Mint-truffle rodent turnovers!?! Sacre bleu! I have not had such good fortune since that little venture in the sultan's kitchens in the city of brass - now they know how to put some heat in a dish, those efreeti do! - but that was quite some time back and my stomach has nearly forgotten how to truly enjoy itself. I can see I have chosen fine companions for this new escapade. Let's go, let's go!!! While you two drive this thing - " he gestures to Ellen and Dev - "you do know how to drive it, don't you? - I'll hunt us up some fresh rodent for the chef's turnovers! I do believe these barges are said to positively teem with rats, no? Have you seen many? Never mind, I'll find them!" Without waiting for an answer, Jacques scampers aboard, rapier in en-garde position, and immediately begins to hunt for rats.
Ellen raises an eyebrow as Jacques hustles out toward their ship; her mouth hangs open, halfway through pushing the air out of her mouth to point out that one does not "drive" a ship, one sails it.
"Well, all right," she shrugs, rising from the table, plate and mug both emptied as much as possible. "Thank you so much for the food, it was very good, we're going to go ahead and take it if we can, and I think one of those... dashing bravo types is making a beeline for our ship and I'm... admittedly concerned."
She takes a few steps toward the door, then turns back. "You're welcome aboard, Akimi!"
Akimi hadn't realized they were holding their breath until they released it in an excited squeak. "Okay!" they say as they scamper after Ellen and Dev. "We should probably stop Jacque anyway, there's no way I'm cooking bilge rats. Assuming you even have rats in your bilge, which feels like a pretty big assumption. But I mean, maybe not? I don't really know boats."
They make a face at the thought of cooking literally anything with bilge rat meat.
Akimi pauses, scurries back to the table, and snatches another sausage for the road, tipping their bowler hat at Tamily with the hand not holding a greasy meat tube. "Thank you so much for the meal! And the job! And I really like your peg leg." They hover in place for a moment, uncertain how to end the conversation, then sheepishly hustles off again without another word.