Four Elves Take A Ship

[Warlord]

The ship was a respectable sort, designed to hold a fair amount of cargo, the occasional passengers, travel at a good clip, and be defensible should it fall under attack but without looking like it was trying to protect something particularly valuable (which would cause more trouble than it would prevent). The Sable Drake was exactly the kind of ship the Drow would have been attracted to as soon as they had gained an understanding of the sea culture. And so it had been one of their earliest acquisitions. The vessel had been in their possession for so long that the crew was happy to say so, even if unasked. In fact, the Captain of the vessel was as oily a dusky-skinned half-elf as one could hope to find and used the arrival of his passengers to prove it. They had been greeted personally by the Captain, given refreshments and hot towels to recover from their hard journey, and ushered into the captain's cabin before hardly anything could be said in protest. After that it had all been an attempt to woo them with what the being considered luxuries.

The vessel itself was a two-masted cutter, equipped and crewed entirely by property and employees of House Melarn. Fast, long, and possessed of a relatively shallow draft, it was designed to go places that other ships would not be able to follow or to simply out run them all together and outmaneuver if it couldn't. The vessel was capable of combat, but mostly by way of its crew which included a ship wizard (a beady eyed Gnome by the name of Gharlin). The Captain's cabin, which was apparently to be their traveling accommodations judging by the four bunks put in along the walls and the complete lack of any personal items that could have belonged to the captain. As the shouts from above indicate that the ship is being prepared for travel a lone sailor sticks his head out and tells the assembled elves that they were invited on deck to see the ship's operation for themselves should it please them to do so.

So it is that all four are standing on the Quarterdeck while the ship comes underway, heading for the open waters beyond the docks of the small community of Hillsfar....

[Auroa]

Auroa leans against the rail masking her unfamiliarity with walking while on a ship. Her mind and eyes wonder on to different forms and topics while she admires the beauty and diversity around her. She looks out over the main deck watching the hustle of all the different people and races working together. Maybe some day the rest of the world will be able to live together like this, She thinks.

[Kal'esrïl Melarn]

Kal'esril stands at a diagonal angle to the main lines of the ship to maintain an easy balance, looking out across the vessel's decks. He admires the efficiency of the crew silently. The various races were recruited for their advantages: Half-Orcs did the heavy lifting, Half-Elves and the occasional full Elf saw to the rigging above, and the smattering of humans (rarer than the others) fulfilled a variety of niche or specialty tasks when not rounding out the other common tasks. The Gnome wizard had been recruited for his specific skills as well. Though there were currently none in this crew, other arguably intelligent races served on a couple of other ships owned by another House. All races working as one, bound together by their service to the Drow Nation... 'Maybe one day the rest of the world will be able to live together like this,' he thinks.

"So, as I was saying, though this vessel is technically owned by my House it, and its sister ships, are utilized by the entire Nation. House Baenre operates the Drunk Duck, House Hun'ett the Slipstream, and the Church operates a war vessel affectionately known as the Dreadnaught that they... acquired... from a defunct slaving venture. Three rows of oars manned by tireless undead under the control of four priestesses and two wizards, with an iron waterline ram and as many undead as they can pack into the holds, she is truly a sight to behold in action."

He turns his attention to his companions again, watching them all for signs he would have to dodge sick when the swells started in. Without attempting to hide the action he pops a rolled herb pellet into his mouth and begins chewing it idly. He had made the little remedy himself before setting out for this journey from plants that prevented nausea, he had learned the recipe from a goblin midwife of all things. It worked, however, and Kal'esril was never one to turn his back on anything that proved truly effective. Drow were practical beings above all else. "Have any of you been on a journey of this length before?"

[Ilyrana Sevayni]

As Kal'esril spoke of the ship, Ilyrana got her bearings as best she could. Truth was, a rocking boat was about the last form of travel she'd have chosen. It wasn't her first time on one, and she wasn't going to be ill. It just felt more comfortable to have solid ground beneath her feet.

She followed Auroa's lead and used the railing as she adjusted. She nodded as the drow went on, listening but it meant very little to her. He seemed proud and confidant of the vessel and that was enough for her for the moment.

Ilyrana kept her eyes peeled for her scaled companion and spotted him high up, circling lightly. At ease that he was around, she managed to catch Kal'esril's question and gave a shrug of her shoulders. "The journey is just beginning. No way to say, yet."

It was an attempt at being humourus while being honest. She turned her eyes to the waterway they'd be departing soon, before adding quietly on. "Not in a long time."

[Lysan Cloud]

Lysan had daydreamed many times about riding on a ship. He had seen them from afar many times, but due to the insular nature of his people, had refrained from flying close.

He answered Kal's question while still looking all around him, marveling at everything. "It all depends on how long this journey turns out to be, doesn't it? I have been on a few long 'hunting' trips with my uncle, when his wife was angry at him for some unknown indiscretion!", he laughs. "Do you think anyone would mind if I climbed to the top of the mast at some point?"

The rolling of the ship took some getting used to, and walking a straight line could be difficult, but Lysan wasn't going to get seasick when his stomach was used to riding thermals, downdrafts and thunderstorms. This was going to be a fun experience.

[Auroa]

Auroa strides across the Quarter deck to the rail in front of the Captain's wheel. Her hips swaying as she walks in time with the rocking of the ship. Once braced against the railing again she replies now looking over the deck. "This will probably be my longest excursion yet. though I am torn I want this to be short so the work can be done, but on the other side I want to have time to experience all this adventure has to offer and then some." as she smiles and closes her eyes feeling the warm sun on her lavender skin.

[Kal'esrïl Melarn]

The Drow watched them all through the darkened lenses of his sundark goggles, the only reason he was willing to be above deck while the daystar still hung in the sky. That was the only trouble with the sea, no shelter from the sun. It was uncivilized. He found his focus going first to Ilyrana, attempting to puzzle her out as she was the only member of the group he found... exotic. Her motivations weren't clear to him yet, unlike the others. Her response didn't make it any clearer either but that hadn't been the intent of his question anyway. Still, it gave him pause, preventing him from commenting on it for the moment. He turned his attention to Lysan. Kal'esril had every expectation of coming to an easy working relationship with the soldier, Lysan's mode of operation would likely work with Kal's like the gears in a water-clock due to similarities in physiology, capability, and training curricula. It made the Drow like the Avariel despite a lack of any real reason to do so.

The Drow ranger takes note of Lysan's fascination with the operations around him. It wasn't thick-headed awe, rather a curious fascination with the processes and an attempt to absorb a new experience. It was an intelligent observation and Kal adjusted his estimation of the soldier upward as appropriate. "Unknown might easily translate to non-existent." The statement was rife with double meaning, but most anything originating from a Drow's mind was. "You may go on high at your leisure, Lysan. However, if you fall you had best learn to fly very quickly." A blatant joke, seeing as the subject in question had a very large and obviously functional set of wings protruding from his back.

His attention turns to Auroa as she strides... no, that wasn't the right word for it. 'Slinks' her way across the quarterdeck. It got the same expression and response out of Kal'esril as it would have had she simply strolled the distance. He had been born in Ched Nasad and educated in Menzoberranzan, cities filled with females who had naught to do with their time and power but make themselves as dangerously seductive as was elvenly possible. It was the only way to get males to forget how bloody dangerous they were long enough to willingly take off their armor in a female's presence. Her comment was more interesting. Kal'esril very loudly clears his throat, causing the wheelman, a half-blooded moonelf, to shake his head and blush as he re-focused on his duties guiding the ship through the straight that would see them in open water. "We are dealing with human 'nobility.' I have every confidence that the journey will take significantly longer to complete than the task we have been dispatched to accomplish. The hardest part will be figuring out which potential paths not to follow, and then we will be on to the next assignment. Perhaps a sojourn to the barbarian kingdom of Rasheman or South to the Gold Dwarves. Both places I have always wanted to visit if given the chance."

[Ilyrana Sevayni]

Her eyes went from observing the sea to Kal'esril as he cleared his throat, it took her a moment to figure out why he'd done it, catching a quick movement from the wheelman to adjust the bearing of the ship. Honestly, it made her nervous to see how easily distracted the man had been. But then again, Auroa was female, a rarely seen race, and was pretty enough to be able to use them to her advantage, she suppossed. She'd seem men swoon over less, and couldn't be sure if Auroa was trying at it or not.

Lysan's reactions and desire to be at a high point didn't surprise her. It had to be where he'd feel most at ease. There would be no forest for her, and even though the sun was warm on her skin, she felt exposed and open out here. Vulnerable. It was not a good feeling. The wild elf crossed her arms across the railing and looked out over the water. Frowning, she nodded to what the drow was saying. "So many strange places to see. I wonder if most missions be rescues?"

Ily admitted to herself that she'd rather be playing hero than pillaging or similar activities.
It was unclear of what the drow intended to accomplish with this little task force. Now that they were beginning, she found herself feeling like an errand girl, though at least it was going to be interesting. In her mind she started to comprise a list of questions they should be asking once they arrived. It caused her to fall silent again, as she watched the water swell and swirl below them, unfurling like shadowy, silt-laden ribbons.

{{ST}} A mildly amused snort echoes through her head via the telepathic communication of her pseudodragon as her thoughts turned inward again. "Sooner or later they are going to think you don't like them child. Even the dark one is pushing beyond his cloak and dagger persona to show interest in the rest of you... and I think he's taken with you in particular."

[Lysan Cloud]

At Kal's joking answer to his question, Lysan responds, "I may have missed a lesson or two as a child, but I think I can manage if I should lose my footing!" He laughs loudly trying to sound at ease with everyone and everything happening.
Although Lysan does his best to appear and be easygoing, he still is trying to learn what he can of his companions. He is sure they all have something to contribute to the enterprise, but just unsure what each of their talents may be. Kal is quite obviously the warrior type. His walk and bearing marking him as potentially extremely deadly in any type of fight, if not already so. The women, however, had him a bit confused, they don't have the carriage of warriors, though perhaps they were magic users of a sort. Many times he had seen his people's magic users accomplish amazing things and had considered studying with them, before joining the military.
Lysan went ahead and climbed up the rigging to the crow's nest, as there was still plenty of day left to enjoy the wind, and observe the crew and his companions. He let his wings partially spread to feel the wind and tried to relax.

"Maybe later, we should all sit down to a drink, informally, and just try to get to know each other. Having been thrown together so quickly, we know practically nothing of each other, and that might cause problems down the road.", He thinks to himself.

[Auroa]

((OOC: did not know someone else was present))

As Kal clears his throat Auroa spins around to face him. Her eyes catch the moon elf as his blush is fading hers grows. She shyly walks to the other railing swaying a little in-spite of herself. Covering her mouth and giggling lightly at the joke while she comes to rest against the banister facing the other two with a small smile. "While I love the idea of adventure, I have to agree with you both. Like the path that leads to the wrong end of the stables, or going on quests for glorified rodent tails. There are some things better left undone."

[Kal'esrïl Melarn]

"I do not know, but I doubt it. Matron Melarn decided this was a special case after ruling out political motivation and assessing it an investigation rather than a retrieval. We will not be errand elves, our dignity as ambassadors will be considered before missions are accepted. Though, we will likely have to resolve this matter ourselves in order to assure a positive outcome for our interests in the city." He dressed down the situation in sharp, staccato Elvish, his head turning toward Ilyrana to ensure she knew he was directly addressing her question for her. He propped his hands on the handles of the two shorter blades he had strapped to his respective legs. Kal'esril occasionally glanced in the direction of Lysan but gave him little active thought once he had withdrawn from the immediate conversation.

Kal turned so that he was oriented toward the space between the two females. He would address their spoken concerns because it was habit. Females in his culture always carried authority and it was often safer to assume their questions required immediate answers than to ignore them. If they didn't outrank a male, they were allies with another female who did. It was the other thing on his mind that made him hesitate, though he didn't show such an uncertainty on the outside. It was coming to the point where they needed to discuss what everybody was capable of, what their part in this party would be. The details of their current mission could wait until after they had gained more information on the missing individuals. "So, that said, I believe we have come to a point in this matter where I think it might be best if we divulged our individual strengths to one another. As used as I am to guessing at my companions strengths and weaknesses, and being accurate at such, I think it would behoove us if we were just slightly more trusting with each other than a group of spider kissers. If you all wish, I can start. Being secretive is a habit I have been intending to take control of anyway."

He looked back and forth between the two females, awaiting their approval of his proposal rather than presuming and just continuing on with this thoughts. In the Underdark, making presumptions where females were concerned had been an excellent way to earn a few debilitating lashes from their serpent whips. After he had joined his fellow Eilistraeens, where such things were unthinkable, defying authority could still occasionally earn one relatively unpleasant, though less obvious, returns. Kal'esril had inherited his father's irreverent streak, but his mother's wisdom in not immediately challenging unknown quantities like the two standing across from him. At least not at the same time.

[Ilyrana Sevayni]

Ilyrana blinked twice at the mental interruption. Somestimes it was easy to forget there was no place she couldn't be reached. It wasn't a bad thing, but it felt almost like she was being parented sometimes. When he said the drow was 'taken' with her, she almost had to fight with herself not to look up and stare at Kal'esril. She could not resist a reply to her winged friend. Taken with me? I do not see why. I've offered little of myself to these because it's against my nature. You know me. Everything about this is new, and my adaptation is to observe and trust when I see it worth doing. I'm trying. Her frustration was clear even in the nonverbal message.

Why her mentor had sent her was a mystery in some aspects. Certainly she was qualified and capable, but if they wanted someone who was going to prattle on and be sociable, Ilyrana had never been that in her life. Such a thing didn't happen in a day.

Kal'esril's words brought her out of her inward communications and she looked at him, nodding to the two comrades present. Both him and Auroa made good points. "Agreed. Seems easy enough, but not taking it for granted."

She tried to relax a bit now, leaning against the railing as she watched the procedings that prepared for the launch of the ship. Ilyrana liked to pay attention to all the small details of things she could observe. Sometimes, it was just that sort of knowledge that saved you from trouble.

Then, the drow spoke again. Ilyrana's first instinct was to scoff at him, taken aback. The word 'trust' was an odd one to use, usually the wild elf only trusted her own kind, and to give out information that felt personal to those she'd just met and were so different from herself? Preposterous.

She tried to stop herself from making a face or looking offended, and took a moment to think about it. He was right, even if she didn't like it or feel comfortable with the idea. They did need to know something about one another's capabilities. But laying all the cards out would be waiting. She cleared her throat, and hesitated before speaking.
"I'm not against the idea, guessing on everything would be....dangerous." She glanced upwards though, indicating Lysan.
"Should all be present?"

[Lysan Cloud]

Having overheard the conversation below, Lysan leaps from the crow's nest and drops to the deck, perhaps surprising a couple sailors on the way.
"That is the best idea I have heard, yet, Kal. I was just thinking about that very thing a moment ago!" He bows toward all three as best he can. "I would be more than happy to start it off, if you ladies are feeling shy. I have been military-trained, both awing and on foot. Sword and bow, though I much prefer the bow. I like to consider myself a skilled archer and a boon on the battlefield. I have no formal political training, having preferred to spend my time among the clouds and trees, hunting and exploring. I also enjoy Grand Entrances and a sharp wit in battle." He grins at the last remark, obviously making a joke at his own expense. This being such an opportunity to experience the new and strange, he probably comes across a just a bit over-eager as he finds a crate or barrel to sit on and waits for the others to answer for themselves.

[Auroa]

giggling at Lysan's joke she comments

"What is there to be shy of? Since we are all friends and this crew is loyal to your family right?"

Nodding to Kal'esril, she then meets each ones gaze in turn looking deep into their eyes with a sweet, whimsical, and wistful smile on her lips as her hand goes up to lay upon her pendent and she stands up straight taking a step off the rail and says

"I am one of the maidens of the Lady Goldheart. I am one of the best in the temple at soothing disputes. Which is the official reason why I am here." stepping further out as her confidence blooms. "I am actually here because while Sildëyuir is beautiful. That is only a mere facet upon the jewel that is this universe. As a devote of the goddess of beauty I must go forth to see all the wonders for myself and encourage the creation of more when I can. This also means if we have to fight I won't be able to aid you offensively but don't worry I am sure many will still fall before me."

she finishes with mischievous grin on her lips and a matching twinkle in one eye as she winks the other. Turning and slinking back to the rail, thinking to herself 'Well since the veil is pulled back there is no longer any reason to hide among them now.' she leans back on the rail and waits for the chips to fall.

[Kal'esrïl Melarn]

The Drow inspected the Wild Elf as she hesitated, then spoke. Not being against it wasn't the same thing as being for it. That was an instinct he could appreciate, and it would make her valuable at later times as a companion. He was about to speak to her concern for all being present when Lysan swooped onto the scene again physically, and into the conversation in much the same manner. The action earned an instinctive duck from the helmsman, but the Drow was far to aware of his surroundings to go diving at the approach of a tentative ally. He spoke very briefly and mildly during the Avariel's self-description so as not to unnecessarily interrupt the flow of his comrade's thoughts. "Kal'esril."

He listened to the introduction, making mental notes to add the described fighting style to his box of tactical tools should the group run into trouble. Lysan also presented an incredible alteration to the shape of a given battlefield, his flight capability adding an entire dimension of movement that many foes just wouldn't be prepared for. It made Kal'esril smile a smile that carried a full measure of dark amusement. He looked to Auroa as she spoke, shaking his head lightly at her question. "Loyal to House Melarn." He casually (so as not to draw attention to the act) turns his wrists inward, placing his palms on the handles of his short-blades in preparation for his preferred twist draw as she touches the pendant around her neck. He could sense its magic through one of his high-born innate powers, he just wasn't sure what it did yet.

As she began speaking his palms returned to the outward facing pommels of his blades. She was a cleric of Hanali Celanil, the Seldarine's goddess of love and the like. The only deity who saw less attention among the Drow was Corellon himself. She would be the negotiator then, capable of affecting even the most shut down of weakling hearts with her words, manner and magic. It also meant he would have to watch out for her own vagaries of emotional attachment, for her own protection and the protection of the group's primary interests. At her pronouncement of pacifism Kal'esril briefly entertains the plotting of her 'accidental' death but decides against it for the moment. He had been charged with keeping as many of them alive as possible throughout their time together. He waits until she is done and returned to her position along the rail before he squares his shoulders to the group to show he was formally addressing them as Lysan and Auroa had done before him.

"I believe the best way to describe my skill set are the terms tactics and survival. I have been trained to survive and succeed regardless of opposition or required responses. I was formally educated at Malee Magthere, a military academy, and have served my house in such a capacity for over half a century now. As a high-born Drow of a noble House, I have much the same training in social situations. In such matters I will usually defer to Auroa as my politics tend to be regarded as hostile and aggressive by les... other cultures. I am a fully trained ranger and warrior, amongst other things, so will be acting as guide, security, bodyguard, etc. during this collaboration. With your cooperation, ladies, and of course your assistance, Lysan, this can be a mutually secure, beneficial, and enjoyable endeavor for us and our respective allegiances." He takes a step back, indicating his formal speech to be done, but adds one last thing before falling completely silent and still again. "Auroa, we will be discussing your profession of non-offensive involvement in the near future."