Astrianna stands at the deck, looking at the assembled docks and ships pulled into port. She listens to Darius with a inquisitive look, before nodding. "All right, you have me convinced. After we finish our delivery I say we find the nastiest Tavern in Shaw and have some drinks!"
"I've no argument against sticking together for a bit. It can be rather dangerous to wander about in a strange port, especially if you are a female. Plus finding a place for a little celebration for a successful journey sounds like a good idea."
"Ladies," Darius says, slipping an arm around each of them, "for angels such as yourselves, only the finest of establishments will do. Otherwise, you will be forced to deal with the bottom feeders harassing you, and likely end up in me having to kill one of them for a slight against your femininity."
Whenever the Captain walks about the deck to check on things, Bri moves up to him to ask about the frigates.
"'Scuse me Captain, but are there often war frigates like those docking here? Just wondering if it meant anything unusual was going on before we disembark."
"Aye not unusual at all. Dragoons have quite a few patrolling trying to keep merchants safe..." he pauses, "..at least when it motivates them. Some good Capts, some not so good in that regard."
Darius when you look around the docks you do see one Cheliax merchant ship that is already harbored and there are two shackles vessels and a Varisa cog that you see.
"I'll take y'up on that drink at the Broken Skulls Tavern this evening." the quartermaster tells the elf. "I like the prizefight'n there."
"Ladies," Darius says, slipping an arm around each of them, "for angels such as yourselves, only the finest of establishments will do. Otherwise, you will be forced to deal with the bottom feeders harassing you, and likely end up in me having to kill one of them for a slight against your femininity."
The stealthy elf speaks into Darius and Rose's ears, poking his head between the 2 since Darius had drawn the women close.
DAMN. He was quiet when he wished to be. Oh, let's drop the charade that our 2 beautiful compatriots are fragile, Darius.He draws back and walks to stand beside Astrianna, I for one have learned well how exceptional these two are over the course of our journey. Beautiful yes, but hardly without defences and well beyond the scope of fools in a tavern.
He bows to the women, was he actually being sincere for a change?
Of course, I still submit to whatever desires our dear Rose and Songbird express, be they carnal or otherwise, and while killing a trangressor certainly falls in that catagory, I pity the man who would stir a tigress.
He stands and stares over the bay, fighting back the urge to fly across.
Such close confines and so many people. I would be far faster to fly to the women's home. I offer the carry the two of you direct and save time. Apologies Darius, but we would have to catch up with you later.
He smiles, for he loved the friendly competing for women who had make them surely work for it.
After his flirtatious statement with the ladies, Darius' eyes settle on the Chelaxian merchant vessel, and his eyes narrow slightly. It was doubtful that they had any capacity, knowledge, or reason to be looking for him, but it was now at least a minuscule possibility.
Even so, his successful escape from Westcrown, his victory over the ghost ship, and surviving the sea serpent all had bolstered his confidence.
Bring them on. With this new group, they will be hard pressed to take me in.
"Well, flying in may bring too much unwanted attention to the widow's home. Plus, I am not exactly sure I like the notion of flying around up in the air. How about we all just walk there for now? Perhaps stroll through a market place after our errand is done and then make our way to the tavern?"
Bri looks a trifle uneasy at the thought of soaring through the air.
You stand on the docks of Port Shaw. The smell of the salt sea rides the breeze, while dark rolling waves lap rhythmically at the pier. Inland, the Dreadsmoke Mountains rise high into the clouds. An ominous sulfur haze clings to their jagged peaks and the black behemoths loom, almost ready to swallow the city in fire. Nearby an egret prances from plank to plank, snatching morsels of corn scattered by a careless dock worker. The lilting calls of the gulls echo overhead. Further south, the dark and sturdy koa wood piers give way to hastily built pine additions, recently erected to deal with a whaling boom.
The singsong chat entices customers.
All manner of vessels moor here. Tulita war canoes rock in the water next to local fishing schooners. Foreign longboats rub gunwales with freighter brigs sunk low with heavy cargo. Enormous whaling barges dwarf the others — save the colossal five-masted naval frigate moored at the southernmost pier below the volcanic rock walls of Fort Stormshield. The enormous warship Bonedeuce’s Pride overshadows the other vessels in the harbor.
Darius smirks at Adriel's interjection, adding, "Indeed, friend. But note I never claimed them to be fragile, or defenseless. I've seen the lovely Embrianna in action. However, I do stand beside my claim that their beauty, honor, and femininity is something worth fighting for. And in such a case, I gladly would lend my talents to make sure that all of those qualities remained unharmed."
"Gonna be a hangin',
Gonna be hangin'
Gonna whack the hangin' man wit me stick,
cuz he's ruthless prick."
A minstrel on the pier fiddles away, this is joined by a chorus of rowdy voices in jubilant fashion.
The crowds on the docks seem to be gathering near the pier where the two war frigates are tying off and securing its cargo. You see there a squad of blue coated dragoons at the end of the dock. You are one dock to the North of gathering.
"I was more hoping that mere presence of such strong men would deter any lowlifes from making unwanted advances upon us. Just because we can defend ourselves if needed, doesn't mean that we want to get into a fight our first day in port."
Astrianna's looks a little excited at the mention of flying to the widow's home. "That sounds incredibly exciting. Embrianna is right, however, we don't want to draw a large amount of attention to ourselves or the widow. Besides, we can't talk to everyone on the streets or learn about Shaw if we're two hundred feet in the air."
She nods at the witch. "I definitely have some shopping to do! I need to sell this old armor, buy a new buckler, get a new fiddle... though the last may take me a while to find a proper one. Oh, and we'll need to find the local magic shop and butter up the owner!"
The bard considers the danger of the docks briefly. "Embri, we should scope out the situation with the men, see how dangerous this place is to us. Worst case scenario is I can create some disguises for us so we don't get bothered."
Astri the fiddling from the docks and songs certainly get your attention, for no other reason than the player is very good, this actually makes sense to you now that you think about the stories you've heard...the people likes the fiddle in this port.
As the group makes their way down their dock to the wharf you see crowd of onlookers gathers by a pier on the Fort Stormshield side of the docks. Whispers of “They got Falken Drango!” and “They caught that bloodthirsty killer at last,” and “I can’t wait to see the bastard swing.”
Darius leads the way off of the Mother's Blessing, walking along the dock. He makes a path through the crowd, saying over his shoulder, "Let's get this delivery over so we can get to the party!"
Astrianna looks at the fiddle player for some time, and begins to nod her head. "That man is very good... I think I'll fit right in here. Won't have to look hard for an accompaniment to my singing either."
She raises an eyebrow at the gathered crowd, thinking about this Falken Drango character they mentioned. "Sounds like they're going to have a hanging. This place has more order than Malta let on if they're executing murders."
As they walk along, Bri listens to the whispers being thrown about.
"Huh, wonder who this Falken Drango person is that people keep talking about. Any of you heard of this person before?"
What Darius and Astri quickly pick up is this Falken Drango is a renown pirate and he is allegedly responsible for murdering his loyal crew. He is known to have committed dozens of acts of piracy on the high seas. The more you talked the more you hear that he never drew steel on a merchant who did not draw first. Basically: "If I kill 'em I can't rob 'em next time and that's bad for business" motto.
From what you see and hear you figure it is highly unlikely that he killed his crew, but if he didn't do did?
Astrianna is puzzled by what she hears, piecing everything together. "How odd." The bard speaks to the others on the issue. "Falken Drango seems to be a pirate that killed his crew, but from what I've heard he was just a privateer, and only fought those who resisted his attempts to seize their cargo."
She shrugs, and continues walking with the group, making for the nearby dragoons. "Sounds like he's either being set up or something killed his crew and he's just getting blamed, poor sap. Not our problem, though. Let's ask these officers for some directions to the widow's house. Who's got the Captain's letter?"
"Can't sez, I believe it all...known him to steal but never lay steel when he didn't need to." she spits on the ground, "Had half me cargo of tea stolen once by 'im." her eyes sparkle when she says this. "Best robbery in my life."
The singsong chat continues to entice customers.
"Aye, he's the most notorious pirate captain to curse the Razor since Garr Bloodbane’s defeat! Falken Drango is a dangerous outlaw who steals on a whim, robbing freighters, whalers and even the odd Dragoon man-o-war. Bah, good riddance." Scoffs another man.
The elf smiles at the polite rejections to his offer of flying,
Ladies, you wound me. Of course we would go Invisibly, so as to not draw attention and we would land just before we got there. I am being too familiar however, it seems, for my offer WAS a poorly veiled gesture to get you both alone and in my arms.
He is beaming ear to ear at the moment.
Darius is a good friend of course, but he is far less brazen than I it seems. My plan was simple, carry you at high speed to an exhilarating height and demand a kiss for your safe return. It seems my plans are once again, short sighted. Come then, let us complete our task and then catch up with Henk at these prize fights he speaks of. Drink and gambling are fun and I may even enter, depending on the stakes. After such poor failures in love a victory in combat would do much to repair my poor ego.
Lead on friends, hopefully the others will follow and we might coax some actual fun out of Hawkins and the as yet unrevealed trueasure that masquerades as a man.
He does like that Astrianna seemed very excited at the prospect of flying, he waits till they are walking and he moves to be on the outside of there group and whispers in her ear,
Astrianna grins at the elf, and whispers back to him.
The little dinosaur familiar chitters in his masters ear.
He wanted very much to feast on the many fish he could see on display.
Why so much, Master? These man-things take much more than they could eat themselves.
The elf answers back with his own chirrups,
They are greedy. They will attack you if you feed. You can hunt later.
He had finally open up a magical link to speak with his little dino. Now here was a true confidant.
His own heart given a voice.
Adriel liked the development
Astrianna grins at the elf, and whispers back to him.
** spoiler omitted **
Bri raises an eyebrow at the whispering going on. Hmmm, wonder if the elf is pursuing us equally and just waiting to see who falls first?
"Well, rumors aside for now, do you all think we are nearing the widow's address?"
Bri looks about, trying to figure out if they are near the woman's house yet.
You're still at the end of the dock where the crowd has been gathering. You haven't even been able to get moving towards the address yet.
Sath is curiously (and cautiously) taking in their surroundings as the group leaves the Mother's Blessing. She was happy to be in a new land, where her would-be husband could not reach her and she could be free to live a life of her own choosing.
Listening to the information about the pirate Falken Drango, she was of the impression that he might have been set up- perhaps something to look into once they finished their errand for Captain Longplank, if her fellow travellers were willing.
Astrianna shrugs at Embri. "I don't think she lives on the docks. We'll ask the dragoons for some directions once this crowd clears out." Glancing towards the fiddler, she bites her lip softly, resisting the urge to run over and dance with the crowd. The bard glances from the crowd back to the minstrel. They won't mind... "I want to ask that man where he got his fiddle. Be back in a moment!"
She slips away even if the men protest, and bolts for the area in front of the fiddler and singing folk. The bard jumps in the middle of them and starts to do a wild Varisia hop jig, rapidly stamping her boots hard on the dock.
The half-elf laughs and claps her hands, absorbing any attention she gets from the crowd- cheers just make her dance harder, and dance partners are gracefully accepted for a few moments before she stamps away to find another. She steps in time with the fiddler, giving him a grin and an encouraging look.
When he finishes his song the out of breath bard smiles at the man, pushing up her hat. "Hey bow-burner, where can a lady get a fiddle like that around here? Didn't see your strings smoking, so it must be a good one."
Astri you see the fiddler has his case open and there are a few coppers and silvers in it. The crowd starts to stomp on the dock as you partake in a dance. The fiddler is too busy to talk, his chin wedged on the fiddle.
""Gonna be a hangin',
Gonna be hangin'
Gonna whack the hangin' man wit me stick,
cuz he's ruthless prick."
Astrianna sighs as the man continues sawing away, not liking to be ignored, but understanding the street performer needs to capitalize on the crowd's encouraging mood. She reaches into her haversack, imaging a gold coin. She grabs it from the top of the bag and deftly flicks it into the case. "Don't ever stop!" The bard encourages him, participating in another dance or two before one of the others drags her away.
The lively music abruptly stops when a contingent of Dragoons hustles down the gangplank and clears a path through the curious onlookers. Astri is bit closer then the others due to her proximity to the fiddler and his crowd.
A Dragoon escorts a tall wiry man, his hair in long black braids adorned with gold and silver bands. The prisoner sports an unkempt beard crusted with blood, most likely from the numerous cuts about his face. Though badly beaten, his eyes retain a sharpness and fierce intensity. Another Dragoon appears behind him, prodding the prisoner with the shaft of his short spear. The man flashes his captor a feral grin, earning himself a sharp jab from the spear’s haft to his teeth. The captive stumbles and spits a mouthful of blood out onto the crowd below, which withdraws with yelps, as if the man rained acid upon them. Heavy iron manacles clapped about his wrists jangle with every step he takes down the gangplank.
A lieutenant greets the Dragoons as they descend to the docks, and they salute sharply. “At ease.” The lieutenant regards the prisoner coldly, “Well, the infamous Falken Drango. Now we can add the murder of your own crew to your ample list of crimes. Do you have anything to say for yourself?” The lieutenant obviously enjoys the eyes of the crowd on him as he confronts Falken Drango.
“Just one thing you ought to know, ye lordship… these manacles are a bit loose.” The pirate’s manacles clatter to the deck at the dumbfounded Dragoons’ feet, and the pirate’s fist cannons into the lieutenant’s head. The officer drops like stone in water and the pirate bolts through the crowd and towards your group.
"Oooh, he sure can throw a punch. Uhm, the fellow is running right towards us now though."
He is weaving and dodging through the crowd and is good 20 feet form you at this point, he has already run buy Astri. The crowd is in shock and awe. The dragoons are startled and late for the jump.
Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability's effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells. See Table: Special Ability Types for a summary of the types of special abilities.
A creature that successfully saves against a spell that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. Likewise, if a creature's saving throw succeeds against a targeted spell, you sense that the spell has failed. You do not sense when creatures succeed on saves against effect and area spells.
Darius steps in front of the man's path, brandishing his glaive with intent to stop the man. He remembered what he had been told aboard the Mother's Blessing and figured the leader of the Dragoons might be grateful for preventing the escape of a wanted fugitive. He could care less about the man's innocence or guilt, that was not for him to decide. But if preventing this man's escape got him in good graces with the people running this city, that just would help him get the wheels turning on advancing himself all the faster.
He scans the crowd for signs of anyone secretly lending aid to the man, then goes into a practiced flourish of his glaive to let the man know he means business. "I wouldn't bother running any further, friend."
__________
Bri responds dryly. "Well, seeing as how we are on a dock, he don't have much further to run. He'll likely be swimming away soon instead."
Darious clearly gets several merchants, sailors, dock workers, and others attention with his dazzling display of his polearm, but the pirate simply scoffs and dashes towards the water. He did not look affected by your dance Darius. Just before he dives he takes on long intense look at Darius. There is splash in the water.