[Your little band has been sailing aboard the inner passages of Malta for some time now. Rats infested the ship, and though most of them were bagged, it wouldn't hurt to get some new fresh supplies to replace the nibbled/rat dropping cargo. Eww.] 8:00:29: [The last stop furthest south on the tip of Malta near the Sea of Serenity is a quiet little port named, aptly, Farport. As you approach the port, some of you notice that this normally quiet port isn't quite so quiet at the moment. There is room for you, yes, and the docks are not exactly packed, but there seem to be a good deal more ships than usual moored.] 8:01:35: [Those that made their rolls notice that the ships are mostly patrol ships. Better armed than your average schooner. The day seems fairly calm, but their are clouds gathering on the southern horizon.] [Session Start.] * Shan sails into the harbor! * Enzo hangs out on the rigging, taking a quick second to shade his eyes and stare at the port. Wind may or may not be riffling through his hair! [There is a cool breeze, yes, but sadly, Enzo did not put points into the "Dramatic Effect" attribute. So it's not nearly as impressive as he'd hope.] * Enzo would pout, but then he would just be emo. No thanks. * Enzo climbs down and walks over to the railing instead. [Shan manages to pull up to the harbor. Yay.] [Filis starts to come down from her look out and sighs. "Crowded port, today."] * Shan is an Imperial Minister. How could you assume anything less? Enzo> ...yeah. * Enzo eyes Filis. "You better get below decks for now." [Marla and Cecillia are sleeping. They're still getting adjusted to ship life. Marla looked expecially exhausted from the rat scare.] * Nasira stretches and lets out a large yawn. She looks fine! And surprisingly uninjured! [Filis looks at Enzo for a moment and thins her lips, but nods and heads below deck.] ( No rat bites? ) (That's still less injured than normal.) (She has a point.) * Shan glances out at the town. "I suppose I should gather information." ...are you sure? That's a lot of patrol ships. All we need is supplies. They are Maltan, are they not? They're still patrol ships. [They are, indeed, all Maltan.] I, for one, would like to learn more of what happened. * Enzo twitches. "Yeah, but if you leave...well, I dunno." * Enzo shrugs. * Shan turns to Enzo. "What?" * Enzo points the way Filis went. "I guess I'm just nervous about any trouble she might've attracted." She won't be with me, so it shouldn't be an issue. Yeah, but if anyone wanted to board the ship and look around, you could stop them. You're a government official! * Shan shrugs. "Virgil's the owner. Get him to do it." * Enzo cocks his head, and doesn't call Virgil a chikin. Okay. * Enzo goes below to track down Virgil. * Shan turns to Nasira. "Care to come?" * Virgil is tracked down and comes up, or something! "Yes?" * Nasira grins. "Sure." (And sorry, but I'm on the phone.) Can you stay and make sure people that want to come on the ship and look around and maybe find Filis or anything else they might not like not to come aboard and look around while we're gone? (Virgil never gets any shore leave. ;_;) Not at all. Do you need a ledger of the supplies we need? (s/Can you stay and/Would you mind staying to) ...sure, I guess, if there's anything special you think we need. * Shan sets up the gangplank and heads off, with Nasira! Presumably. * Nasira does go, because Arwen isn't on the phone anymore! * Virgil rummages through his book and takes out a few sheets of paper. "The neccessary supplies are outlined at the bottom. I'll need some time off the ship, mind, to find a buyer for the claws we found, so when you're done on shore I'd like a chance to do that." ...hmm. 'k. * Enzo takes the sheets. "As long as we don't get chased off or anything." * Enzo waves and sets off to catch up to Shan and Nasira. "Bye!" [Enzo, Shan, and Nasira make their way down the pier towards the poor port facilities. Some of the buildings look as if they're in need of repair work. Along the way, they pass in front of the harbor master's office.] [Out front, there seems to be an argument going on between one of the officials. He is wearing a burgundy robe trimmed with gold and white on the cuffs and has a long black beard in his middle age and a turban like hat. The person he is arguing with gesturing at the ships seems a bit familiar.] * Shan stops to listen. Now look, it's obvous that you want every ship that can possibly sail out, and I have six cannon that are doing no better than rusting while I wait for Captain Jakobsen to repair his ship. It only makes sense to bring me, them, and the materials he needs to set sail. * Nasira blinks with her one eye at Lucas. "Isn't that the canon guy?" she asks her boss. * Shan nods. "I remember him. * Enzo eyes him, then snaps his fingers. "Oh, yeah! That explains it." And I have told you before that unless you have a writ from the Council, there is nothing that can be done. These are not civilian vessels to be boarded at whim. * Lucas raises his hands to the sky. "And how am I to get one if I cannot leave this port? Even if you had a ship to spair to send north, by the time it returned with an answer I would already be gone from here. I do not think they would wish my resources to go unused." [The harbormaster sighs wearily. Either they've been talking for some time already, or the talking that has been going on has been grating on his patience. "If I set you onboard a ship without a proper writ of authority, it would mean my job. If you can find a market for your cannons, perhaps we could see fit to purchase a few, but there is no way we can take you onboard." He spreads his hands out in a "my hands are tied" gesture. [The harbormaster adds a little lower, "You are not even Maltan..."] I am well aware of all of this sir, but being forced to stay here for... ::he pulls folded piece of parchment out of his pocked and glances at it:: Three weeks is simply intollerable. Cannot one of your captains be perswaded to take us on mearly to test my countries weapons against your own? [The harbormaster looks a little aghast at the suggestion. "Perhaps if they were here for naval training. But these ships are on a mission. It would be ludicrous to ask them to be outfitted with untested equipment simply to "try it out"] ["They will be leaving soon after they are refitted, anyways."] * Enzo rocks on his heels as he listens in. Doot de do. They are not as you say "untested" unproven to yourselves, yes, but not untested. My family has been building them for generations and we well know what they are capable of. And during a refit would be the best time to replace a weapon as the worn ones are to be removed in in the process. * Nasira tilts her head. [The harbormaster snorts. "And as I said, I have a job to do. It is not that I do not believe you, but I would need proof. And the proof is in the writ I mentioned earlier. Without that, there is nothing I can do. If the equipment does not meet with council approval and something goes wrong, it comes back on me."] * Lucas brings his right hand up to his face and rests the fingers against his forehead. "And I am assuring you that nothing will. Fire fifty, a hundred rounds and they will still be just as strong as the day they were cast!" [The harbormaster nods. "And still, it is just your word to go on." He smiles apologetically. "It would have to be official, I am sorry." * Lucas sighs and nods. "Thank you for your time, sir." He turns to walk off and freezes when he sees crowd he's gathered. [The harbormaster goes back inside. Lucas is all alone with these scary people!] * Enzo cocks his head. "Hello!" * Lucas laughs. "Hello! And welcome to Farport!" * Shan smiles slightly. "Troubles, Mr. Cannon Merchant?" * Nasira whistles and looks up at the sky. It isn't *her* fault, today. [The sky is totally Nasira's fault.] * Lucas nods and gestures to the parchment in his hand. "Unfortunatly yes. I was to change ships here and continue on to Zaxon, but the esteemable Captain Jakobsen has been delayed and it would be much faster for me to come to him than for him to come here, but the locals are a bit reluctant to let me onboard one of their ships at this time. Might I enquire as to where you are headed?" * Enzo ...s, and glances at Shan. * Nasira looks at Shan, too, but she's grinning. As coincidence would have it, Mr. Smithson, we are also heading to Zaxon on business. Though I must say, the delay we encountered in Forthswith was rather in bad timing. Have you any idea what happened? * Lucas shakes his head. "Unfortunatly I do not, we did not arrive untill after it was all over and I have no head for assembling truths out of rumors." I see. That's unfortunate. What were the rumors? * Lucas lowers his voice. "Well, some people think that somebody desicrated some graves and the shrine in the canyons up above the city. But if you asked ten people you got twelve descriptions on who did it. Most of them thought female though. They all agreed that it was unbeliveable that somebody had done that to something something that had been there so long." * Nasira raises an eyebrow. "That so. Sounds pretty nasty." * Shan nods. * Enzo nods too. * Lucas nods. "On the one hand I'm glad that I personaly wasn't there when it happened, on the other I wish there was something that I could have done for them." * Nasira waves offhandedly. "It all works out. I think we already did something." Some kinda something, anyway. Hey, eternal rest and relaxation! What more could they want? There was deffinately something going on. * Lucas tilts his head. "Oh?" Just killed off some zombies while we were there. * Lucas looks at Nasira and the others. "Then you have my thanks, now, shall we go someplace more comfortable to work out the details of my passage?" Oh, we're taking him? * Nasira looks to Shan. "Are we taking him?" Forgive me if I acted hastily. I don't believe so. Right. I think we should take him. In that case allow me to offer my men, my cannons, and my own service on board your ship in excange for passage. That's why! ...how many men? I don't. Our ship is small, we've already got more people aboard than we planned for and our supplies are dwindling. * Nasira grins. "Come on, Boss, it's not like he doesn't pay to feed his own people." And we could use some cannons. Not that I don't like skewering some bird-ladies by hand, because I do, but if they drop before they reach the kids... * Shan gives Nasira an I'm-trying-to-get-this-guy-to-pay-for-our-supplies look. (Ye gods, what exactly does that look *entail*? @_@) ( D:< ) * Nasira doesn't really understand the look. It must be too complicated. (The mystical use of the third...eyebrow.) * Lucas nods. "If your ship is too small to accomidate us and our luggage, there are items that can be left in storage untill I, or another member of my family passes this way again, and you will not find finer cannnon on this island." (Or maybe she gets similar looks all the time.) And we number five total. * Enzo scratches his head. "I dunno, we might not be able to cover that many supplies-wise. We're already running low." He must've caught the fumbled look. ( And that's it for my knowledge of football metaphors. x.x) * Lucas faces Shan. "I was not expecting to charter are ship..." And we were not expecting to accomidate guests. (our, Gryph) (or a, depending.) (actualy 'a' ^^;) (Or Lucas is a pirate.) (arr) True enough, and given the constraints of time... How much then to travel as passangers? * Enzo edges over to Shan and shows her the sheets Virgil gave him. * Shan gestures Enzo and Nasira away a bit. "If you'll give us a moment to confer..." She takes the ledger from Enzo as she does, perusing it. * Shan shortly hands it back to Enzo. "I cna't read this." * Enzo follows, and mumbles translations to her, so's Lucas can't hear. * Nasira chats cheerfully with Lucas while they plot his death! "So, where in Zaxon are you heading for?" * Shan tugs Nasira. "You, too." Or tell me later! * Nasira is tugged into the conversation. * Lucas consults the parchment, and by the time he looks up Nasira is hauled away! * Shan waits until they're far enough away, then speaks! "What makes you think we can trust this man? I can kick his ass and throw the remains overboard if we can't? ...wait, we trust the other people who are already on the ship? Him and all five of his men? ... Well, yeah. Before they take one of the kids hostage? Do we have to take *all* of his men? What do they do? Carry stuff? I don't know. But we can't just invite everyone we come across. * Nasira grins. "It's not like cannons are close-range weapons." If you're really worried, why don't we just take him? I think he's desperate enough. 'Cause if it's just easy stuff Nasira and I can take care of it. I dunno why they'd want to take the kids hostage, but if you're that worried, we can split them up with us or something. * Shan sighs heavily. She nods towards the papers Enzo has. "What do they say?" * Enzo tells her! (Hahaha.) * Enzo can't read the Zaxonian stuff, but he adds stuff he thinks would be necessary. Who knows if it's the same thing Virgil wrote! * Shan listens. [Enzo goes on to list various supplies. Mostly grains, that the rats ate through. But things that keep. If there's anything non-food related, he might want to mention it to buy.] * Enzo mentions it like whoa. [The marketplace of Farport looks to be fairly slapped together, but clean. The city itself is small, but there are people mulling about. And there is a pub, because it wouldn't be a port town without one.] * Shan listens, and frowns. "Oh, is that all it says?" Yeah, pretty much. I mean, I can think of other things we could need but don't really *really* right now need, i f you like. That's fine, Enzo. So I suppose we shall tell Mr. Smithson he alone may come? [Various cobblestone streets lay about in various states of disrepair. There is an appraiser's office off in the distance, and a lighthouse high on the hill. There's the ting of a smithy off in the distance too.] If you think that's best, boss. Like I said, I think he's desperate enough. And I can beat him with three fingers out of one hand. * Lucas reads over his piece of parchment again. * Shan nods and turns back to Lucas. "We've reached an agreement. You may come, if you like, but we're uncertain of having so many people on board, so I'm afraid the rest of your men will have to stay behind. You may bring what you like, but we will expect you to pay for your own passage. ( End quote ) * Lucas shakes his head. "I'm afraid that my father would never forgive me for abandoning them, let alone the rest of my family. Perhaps if I were to introduce you to them and ask them to help you load the supplies that you need for yourselves I could make a favorable impression of them for you? Also by myself I am only able to man one of the cannons and..." * Lucas gestures at the fleet of ships. "There is something going on even if I am not sure as to what it is yet." * Shan follows his gesture. "Yes. I would like to know what is going on, as well." * Nasira follows the gesture to the ships. Her eye lights up. Well, then. I'll take your offer, and we'll meet your crew. But I cannot guarentee a change in our decision. I accept. * Lucas holds out his hand to Shan. * Shan blinks a few times. "But we haven't yet made an arrangement..." She glances at Enzo, confusedly. Strange Maltan custom? * Enzo shrugs. I think you're supposed to shake it. * Lucas nods. "And we have made part of an arrangement." * Shan shakes it. Awkwardly. She knows about this custom, but it seems strange to shake hands for only a partial agreement. "Very well." You can shake again, if we make a bigger arrangement. Yeah. Maybe with spit, too! * Shan makes a face. * Nasira grins. "Might want to get used to it if you ever make deals in Caladeem." * Lucas looks at Nasira. "Only if I convince your captain to invest in more than a rental of my guns." Uhh...Nasira, you may handle such traditions, should we ever visit Caladeem. * Nasira snickers. "Sure thing, boss." Lucas points to the pub. "I left them in there as I was not expecting to find any sort of passage today." * Shan nods. "Then let's pay them a visit." This'll be fun. [To the pub! Session end.]