Although he looked like he was about to buckle from shouldering one too many sandbags, Jaro bowed his head to the Princess. "We'll get on it first thing this week then. Thank you, Princess."
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At a nod from the Princess, Jaro spoke up, "I won't deny that trade has been slow, but the key thing what Gaeros said is 'maintain'. It's more than a laughable state for a port of our size, it's negligent."
"That's one way to put it, Princess," Jaro replied, glancing in the direction of the Treasurer. "Another's to say that it was shut down."
Straightening at the haloed beauty's words, Jaro smiled and gave her a nod, "Look forward to it."
"Ah, yes." Jaro followed suit, the rugged man doing his best to give a flourish of his calloused hand as he stumbled over something suitable to say, "Your business partner will be the envy of the city, your Lady."
From behind the excited ranger, Commodore Gaeros and Harbormaster Corvinus entered, each bowing to show their respect. A wry grin on his face at Sasha's mirth, Jaro commented, "That's the problem with a bad penny, Miss, it always turns up."
"Hmm," Jaro turned to the folder holding the stack of papers Hurriah had brought and pulled the four top-most sheets of paper, slapping them in front of the dwarf and the witch. "Here you go now."
"Ah, well hope your cousin is alright, Darvesch." was the only reply the Harbormaster offered for a few moments, until finally, he circled a few entries in the center of the page and spun his ledger around for the others to see. "What we've got here are the departures over the last few hours, along with their captains and their next port of call:
"Spirits huh?" Jaro leaned over the ledger and compared it against the manifests and bills of lading Hurriah had dropped off. "Well if you've got some kind of time-frame I can narrow things down to, it would help. One of my boys said something about an assassination attempt, is that who you're looking for?"
"Thank ya now." Jaro gave Hurriah a thumbs up and sent her off with a slap on the rear. With a deep laugh, he leaned back over to the horn and said, "Yeah, keep everyone berthed until they give us the all-clear. Don't want to go pissing the old man off when he's trying to mount a pursuit." With that, he turned to Darvesch, and Amelia, looking over the cargo manifest, and said, "Looks like Ridger's calling Freetown with a hold full of rice. Think that's your man?"
"Ridger? Red Gar?" Jaro mused, brow furrowed as he looked to his visitors, hoping to find recognition on their faces. "Yeah, might be." Snapping his fingers to get Hurriah's attention, tapped twice upon the ledgers on his desk. "You know anything about him and his ship, Russo?"
"HEY!" The Habormaster growled and ran a hand thru his hair. "Next man speaks out of turn is gonna have my boot rammed so far up his ass it'll knock out his teeth! Now, any of you got a clue about a ship called the Red Gar? Hell, anything having to do with red or fish? Captain, sails, anything?" There were several long moments of silence before he added, "If you know something or got a guess, speak up."
"ALL OF YOU COCKBAGS SHUT YOUR DAMN YAP!" Jaro shouted, his whole desk rattling as he slammed his hand down on it. Once the noise over the horn had died down, he resumed speaking, ire evident in his tone, "Nial, lock-down the port and keep an eye out for anyone trying to make a get-away. The Princess herself's got men looking for someone, but the details ain't exactly forthcoming."
Jaro waved a hand to shush the woman and called out to Nial thru the copper funnel, "Never you mind that. We've got a law-enforcement situation — dangerous man trying to flee the city. Get a security detail and–"
"Red huh? Well that's–" No sooner did Darvesch pose his question than was there a commotion down the hall from Jaro's office. "The fuuu–" Leaning over to the copper funnel, he shouted, "YO! What in the hell is going on out there? Hurriah? Hurriah?"
Jaro regarded Amelia's advice quite solemnly, nodding thoughtfully. "Ah, I see. Well it's not that I don't know where to find proper ladies, the improper ones are more fun is all. Haha!" With a deep laugh, the Harbormaster fell back into his chair and kicked his feet up onto his desk, reaching for a humidor on a small table beside him, he popped the top open as Amelia ran her fingers across his desk. "Either of you smoke, I do enjoy a cigar from time to time, so be my guest." When instead it became clear that they were here on business, his expression became more stern, and he set the cigar box back down, reaching instead for a copper funnel that protruded from the wall. "YO, Hurriah! Bring me the manifests for today's arrivals and departures. Lemme see who we got at dock too. Thank you now." Turning his attention back to his visitors, he asked, "Now then, mind telling me a bit more about this dangerous man we're looking for?"
"The heavier set twin?" Jaro's eyes suddenly went wide as he finally realized who he was talking to. Looking like he just realized he'd gotten himself in hot water, he tried to recover as best he could. "Oh! You and that guard girl are sisters? Well damn. Please be so kind as to excuse my uncouth language. Normally the only time women come knocking here is if– well, let's just say proper ladies tend not to." Waving an arm for the two to enter, he said, "Well come in and tell me what's going on. If it's not about ol' blondie then I'm a mite bit curious to know."
The din of prison construction to the south was easily drowned-out by the clangor of bells, and teams of stevedores and inspectors jockeying over opportunities. Within New Viamaré's Port Authority, a loud voice and strong frame were one's greatest assets. Little surprise then that it fell to Darvesch to shoulder his way thru the crowd of shippers to the offices beyond the clerks' counters. After a number of shouted directions and pointed fingers, dwarf, Dafari, and cat found themselves at a battered door with a pane of cracked, smokey glass bearing the words 'Jaro Corvinus, Harbormaster' in bold, black relief. A knock that caused the door to rattle in its frame provoked a crash and a litany of curses from the other side. A few moments later, the door was yanked open and Amelia was greated with a loud "WHOA!" as she found a handsome yet scruffy-looking man with a deep chest staring at her, brow furrowed as he tried to puzzle out why she looked familiar. "Wu-uh-uh," he shuddered, "now just to be clear, I may have been drunk last night, but I damn sure didn't get with any skinny bi–" The sound of Darvesch clearing his throat brought the Harbormaster's gaze down and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh damn! Thought for a second there I was gonna have to give up... well nevermind that. If you're looking for Hlokenar, I walked his drunk ass back home before daybreak."
Outside Villa Sempronius, Jaro found himself shaking his head as Lilyana marched westward towards her home, holding the vase she had tried to give to the Princess as a betrothal gift on her brother's behalf. Heading the opposite way was the Echorn guardswoman with whom he'd briefly chatted before the Marshal had to talk business with her. So Lily still thinks she's going to hook him up with the Princess even after all that?! Good gods above, that fvcker's a damn saint, I'd have sold her ass up the river by now! At least that dark girl has a level head. Pausing just outside the estate, grateful that at least the sun had set even if the muggy jungle air still retained the day's heat, he fished around inside one of his coat pockets for his rolling papers and the blended stash of nutmeg, cumin, clove and tobacco he kept therein. "Waste of a damn day," he grumbled to himself, "Freebooters are gonna light my harbor up like the sunset, and they're arguing about the damn Zucks..." For a few minutes, the barrel-chested man stood still, looking westward at the palace, it's great dome and sprawling north and south wings silhouetted against the glow of the setting sun. Here and there, he could make out the fleeting shapes of bats wheeling thru the darkness to dine upon insects attracted to the magical lanterns lining the streets around The Green. Worst comes to worst, that mulatto girl that works for Hlokenar's got a good head on her shoulders and a nice ass. Guess I could rock on with that and head inland. "Hey baby," he muttered in between puffs of smoke, "how'd you like a hot yard laid up inside of ya?" It was only the crunch of boots on cobblestones and the squeal of the villa's wrought-iron gate opening that caused him to turn around, mildly curious who followed. "I'm going to go get myself a damned drink. You coming with me?" "Ah," he seemed pleasantly surprised, "best suggestion I've heard all day. If it's The Keg then you're buying, The Pier's on me though."
"Well, it might be a moot point," Jaro grumbled, arms folded across over his deep chest. "When the Zephrys put into port a few days back, they had two captured Freebooter ships in tow. Word from Pier 21 is that the Princess and her allies engaged them off Reaver's Shiv, killed one crew, took another prisoner, and sent another fleeing. Killed some big-shot dragon-mage too if the stories are to be believed." "Princess," he said sternly, "if the Confederation decides to retaliate then we might as well be arguing over who's captain over a ship with its sails on fire."
Master Corvinus crossed his arms and gave the wizardess a stern look, head cocked to one side, "Alright so your plan basically requires that every human living in Rardin, Batasuno, and any outlying towns either relocate or simply live out their lives without fathering any children?" He raised an eyebrow, "Yeah... right."
"Now wait just a minute," came an outburst from the back of the room. Stepping forward, the city's harbormaster, Jaro Corvinus, looked more than a bit agitated, his tone indicative of a man who cared little for courtly decorum. "It was my understanding that we're trying to figure out what to do about the Zucks here in the capital. There are are towns and cities all along the rivers. What are the people living in them supposed to do if we suddenly consolidate along the coast? They're not just going to up and move here anymore than the Zucks out in The Flats are going to go back where they came from either."
Jaro cocked his head to the side, brown eyes appraising the sway of the young woman's hips as she departed. "So, why is it that when a guy parks his carriage illegally it's always some fat bastard who issues the citation instead of someone like that? Hell, if she wanted to frisk me..." Suddenly realizing the fact that he'd just been talking to the dwarf about courting his cousin, the harbormaster feigned nervousness and said, "Oh damn, I'm going to find out if that dungeon beneath the palace is real now, aren't I?"
The chuckle that escapes Jaro at Darvesch's warning soon turns into an incredulous gape. "Dwarf, they not feeding you up in the palace? This is just the start of the main course — you have to pace yourself!"
"Heh, you have no idea how much of a firebrand she really can be. You should see her in battle sometime. ... Not everyone is as adventurous as Ali.. i mean, the Princess." As Darvesch quickly helped himself to the piping hot sausages that were set before them, Jaro gave Isaac an incredulous look before leaning over to get a better look. "We're still talking about the little blonde elf girl, right? Hell, I'm twice her size and that's just my left arm!" Shaking his head in disbelief, Jaro clapped Isaac on the shoulder and said, "Well, you might have blown it with the Princess, Ize, but I'll volunteer to take your place. So, Darvesch..." Jaro regained his seat and nodded in appreciation to the serving girl that had just laid a side of pork at their table. Straightening the silk tie about his neck and smoothing his doublet, he asked, "What would it take to get a Princess to marry outside her station? Just need to solve this crisis she's on a rial about right? Just tell her I got this. The rest is details!" With a good-natured laugh, he rapped his hands on the edge of the table and flipped a fork into his hand by striking the tines with the heel of his fist. "Ah, let's eat!"
"Ah, haha!" Jaro had waved off wine in favor of a stout of which he had just taken a deep draught. "Look at the peacocks sweating their estates, Ize. Your kid sister just stirs up all the hornets' nests, doesn't she?" When the music had changed and the serving staff paraded the giant boar thru the chamber, the harbormaster had grinned in anticipation. "Guess they don't grow boar underground," he had said, "but you're in for a treat, dwarf!" Now, sitting a bit closer to Isaac so he could see, Jaro commented, "Your cousin's quite the firebrand herself, isn't she Darvesch? Old Governor Taurion would never have had a stuffed boar at one of her parties!"
"Doesn't phase me," the harbormaster said quietly to Isaac, joining in with a shrug of his shoulders, "I pay for whether a job gets done or not. Couldn't care less if I had trolls for stevedores... long as they follow orders."
Jaro raised an eyebrow. "He?" The harbormaster looked to the Marshal, but it seemed clear that Isaac was no more in-the-know than he.
"Ah," Jaro nodded in understanding before muttering, "thank you now," to a servant that had just set down a large platter. Cut meats, olives, crackers, grapes, and cheeses were heaped high, and before each of the guests were placed several shallow dishes containing seasoned oils, spiced pastes, and other condiments and dipping sauces. At the dwarf's question, the harbormaster popped a stuffed olive into his mouth and shrugged. "Now that's going to depend on your cousin. I've seen Patricians drag these things out from 2 in the afternoon to 2 in the evening and later. Some place you need to be?" As another servant set down more platters, one containing huge, stuffed mushrooms, another with steamed clams, he asked, "Now answer me this, how exactly does one become cousin to a princess, or any elf for that matter?"
"Exiled?" Jaro raised an eyebrow, "I'd heard your kind were serious about their liquor but damn!"
Jaro's laugh seemed more like a cackle, "It's Darvesch, right? So, do you have any of Ortai's vodka on you? I just got a few more ideas for tonight, but we might be needing some tomorrow... and when I say 'we' I mean Isaac."
"I'm comfortable just as I am, but I get the point." Darvesch spied a wink from Sasha as he walked off, soon finding himself drawing close to Isaac and a well-dressed human with a scruffy beard. A few minutes ago, the Major had introduced the man as one Jaro Corvinus, the city's Harbormaster. Unlike the drama that was taking place elsewhere, the two men seemed to be more preoccupied with joking — although given Lilyana's actions the humor was potentially at Isaac's expense. "Excuse me." Jaro looked to his left and then down until he met the gaze of the short-statured warrior. "Ah, I was starting to wonder if you were going to impersonate a statue up there." Moving in towards the center of the bench, Jaro extended a hand to the seat he had vacated. "So," he remarked casually, "Isaac was just telling me he's broken-hearted that your cousin turned him down. I was thinking of taking him to Victor's later and getting him a room with a couple of strippers and a case of rum. What do you think, gnomes or fauns?"
"Huh," Jaro scratched the coarse stubble on his chin, and nodded towards the Princess. "Well, if Lily's trying to fix you up with the new Governor then I guess it makes sense." Turning back to the Marshal, he paused for a moment, before speaking his mind, "Now don't get me wrong, that Lureene is plenty hot alright, but I'd be apprehensive about courting a woman who makes eyes with everyone in the room like that. Hit it and quit it, man, hit it and quit it. And what's the deal with those wings? Did she get hatched by a damn dragon or something? That's kind of wrong man."
"Well," he whispered, glancing over his shoulder in anticipation of a spectacle, "she should probably rein him in then instead of encouraging him. Heh. Say, did you catch the looks that woman with the wings is throwing around?" He gave a low whistle and tugged on his collar. "I mean there's not a bad-looking woman in here today but damn! She could about make a sailor blush!"
"Well, could be worse," he said with a shrug, "she could have tried to hook you up with a rich but ugly woman." "Don't worry though," he nodded towards Poe and Elendreth, "I think that elf kid is about to embarrass himself."
The sound of snapping his fingers brought Isaac out of whatever personal hell he was experiencing, "Hlokenar, who are you talking to? I'm right here..." With a laugh, Jaro Corvinus clapped the taller half-elf on the shoulder and took a seat in his exedra. "Guess there's a positive side to being an orphan after all, huh?"
"Heh," Jaro got a good chuckle from Isaac's assessment of the work situation. "Well I don't know about this being more of a chore, but then I wasn't the man in charge of the security detail." The sturdily-built human clapped the taller half-elf on the shoulder as he passed, "If you need a strong drink after this you know where my office is..."
Jaro Corvinus grimaced a bit at Isaac's rebuke, and his tone grew more apologetic, "I meant no slight against you or your kin, Hlokenar, just venting frustration. With the state of affairs here, you'd think the King would have sent someone more experienced." He ran a hand over his hair and shook his head. "Truth is, I'd rather go home, but it's part of my job to be here — even if there is a ton of work back at the office." He gave the taller man a knowing grin, "Guess we're in the same boat there though, aren't we?"
"Damn straight I'm critical," Jaro growled. "Just like Governor Taurion, it's another case of an elven noble being so slow to react that it's too late by the time they do. Thank the gods our high and mighty King had a no doubt bastard half-breed he didn't want around to look after us. Maybe she'll have a bit more sense at least..."
"Oh, I feel it Corvinus, its just a nice day out." "Right," he said, looking at the sweat beaded on the faces of the valets in their formal uniforms, "obviously a common sentiment today." It wasn't difficult for the major to detect the sarcastic irony in Jaro's word choice. Certainly no commoner (at least not one with work to do) would have agreed with the Major. "Eh, you know how nobles are, fashionably late and all that. She's also pretty young, seems the government needs some fresh blood around here." "New blood. Tch– Nice way of saying 'inexperienced'." Although he grumbled it under his breath, Isaac's elvish ears could pick up Jaro's disdain. Rolls: Sense Motive Checks:
Perception Checks
"I think they'd choose to dock their ships in a harbor where there's no risk of them getting sent to the bottom while still moored. If we are going to fight then we shouldn't wait until they are on our doorstep!" A sigh of frustration escaped thru clenched teeth even as a finger tugged at the silk scarf the man had knotted about his neck for the Princess' summons. With a sour look on his face, he lifted his chin towards the tall Marshall and called out, "I'd ask if it's hot enough for you, but then you can't actually feel this can you, Hlokenar?" It didn't take a mind-reader to see that the man didn't think too highly of those who relied upon creature comforts just to go about their daily lives. When one of the valets rushed forward to offer him a drink of water and a cool cloth for his face, he nodded in gratitude and refreshed himself before tipping the man against custom. "I noticed our new Governor isn't as punctual as the last," he said plainly, as if challenging Isaac or anyone else to dispute it. The fact that he and the Master Builder were the last to arrive either unknown to him or irrelevant. Rolls: Sense Motive Checks:
"No!" Isaac could hear the agitated voice of an approaching man before he could actually see him. "I am not advocating any course of action that gives Gaeros and his lackeys the means to strong-arm the rest of the city like that. They've already shown they can't handle it, and what if a better-armed force was to have taken the island instead of a lone madman? What then?" As he looked on, the Marshal could see two men, both human, heading up the driveway on foot. The first appeared to be perhaps 30 at most. While his clothes were of fine quality, and his hair slicked back for today's occasion, the lines and tan on his stern face and muscular arms attested to a man who was unafraid of hard work — Jaro Corvinus, the youngest Harbormaster in the city's history. |