Monty stared at the man like he was crazy. Judging by his words, he was expecting that.
The now-named Agile Wolf and Salaah brushed past him as they made for their boat, both looking rather off-put by their captain's words. He imagined everyone else looked much the same.
Was this worth the trouble, he wondered? Sure, he'd be saving a few (tens of) thousand(s of) gil, but the already sketchy ride now had a distinct air of danger. He had been rather actively avoiding danger for a number of years...
"I want a discount," he sighed, before adjusting his pack and following.
Xha'li blinked slightly at Tyriont's arrival, wondering if the Elezen's balance would be any better on the ship before shrugging it off. He'd be working his way as a healer and frankly as long as the man didn't manage to seriously injure himself while they were several days away from shore and some more qualified healers it'd probably go a long ways to reducing his ferry bill.
At the captains introduction he nodded his head respectfully from where he was still sitting by his pack before starting to stand up for the introduction and arrangement of passage when his thoughts were abruptly cut off my Tyriont's declaration that they would all get passage, and details would be worked out underway. Wondering just what was up Xha'li opened his pack and secured his conjour's wand to his belt where he'd be able to get to it easily with his pack on before hefting his pack and following Agile and Salaah towards their boat looking forward to getting away from this gods blasted sand so he could let his tail out with out having to worry about spending several hours latter getting all the sand out of it so it wouldn't itch constantly.
Drat. Then again, they probably had no business trying to swindle a group of likely swindlers, anyway.
Her dismay soon became morbid curiosity as the Captain arrived looking less than ready to give proper orders. If he was like that and they hadn't even yet boarded... But he instructed those two well enough—what was Code RB?—and, more importantly, they'd gotten passage! Unfortunately. The kinks could be worked out later, since Cima wasn't one to lose a haggle. Worst case scenario she had a few hundred gil to spare, some sturdy bows, and a full quiver. And she'd end up swabbing the deck if she knew her stomach.
Shrugging at the Elezen's petty theft, Melle slung her backpack over both shoulders and followed him alongside Cima and Faydrel. She hopped into the boat, grabbed the edges with cold fingers as it swayed, and shuddered.
"Ships tend to carry big buckets," she told her companions, though it was more of a self-reminder. The things she did for work.
Sweat beaded on Desmond's brow as he neared the end of the dock and the rowboat that would take their group out to the ship, Phoenix Flame.Â
His hand went to the heavy leather straps of the haubergeon he wore as he thought, 'I must learn to swim and save myself from these unfounded terrors'.
The female Miqo'te called Salaah jumped lightly into the boat, followed by the male healer. Swallowing hard, Desmond hopped into the boat and immediately lost his balance, pitching forward to land on all fours.
'Twelve, I hate the sea.'
The rowboat pitched behind him as someone else boarded. Staggering to regain his footing, he moved to starboard and commenced his white knuckle death-grip of the lip of the boat in ernest.
While the two younger women attempted to con the potential con artists, Faydrel's attention had shifted towards the bit of commotion that was occurring further down the docks. Whatever what was happening, it was far too away for her to get a good look. With a small shrug of her shoulders her attention had then shifted back onto the Miqo'te named Salaah as she chided the two girls on their good attempt at bluffing on board the ship. A soft chuckle chimed from her throat and gave a small salute to the red-headed Miqo'te as she acknowledged the added help aboard would be appreciated. "Whatever gets me to my glittering gem of Limsa." Faydrel commented in her usual laid back tone.
With a small bark from Agile, Faydrel shifted her full attention back onto the nearby men and female Roegadyn as the larger woman started to give out the orders of what was to come when their captain showed up. However, the commotion from earlier appeared to be getting closer to the group. Quizzically she glanced towards the origin and soon witnessed a male Elezen in obvious sea-wear breaking through the crowded docks and right in their direction. 'Well things just got more interesting...' she mused as the dark-haired Elezen scampered closer to the group before skidding to a halt. Her gaze looked past the man and towards the disheveled crowd of apparent citizens on the docks. Whatever it was he was running from was no where to be seen.
The man was apparently the captain of the Pheonix Flame and gave a quick explanation of needing to get everyone aboard now. A blonde brow arched slightly as shifted her weight to favor her right foot. The two young women followed after the captain without much complaint and Salaah and Agile were already making for their rowboat. "Aye aye, Cap'n!" She called out with a quick shift of her pack and came up the rear of the other girls and stepped into the small fishing vessel with an added shove off the dock-side and towards the open water.
"Code Really Bad?" She mumbled aloud to herself as her gaze watched the docks a moment before another soft snort left her and she took her a seat in the back. Faydrel plopped her back onto the vessel's floor as she eyed the other two girls a moment before landing back onto the captain. "Keeping the girls to yourself? I like you style there, Cap'n." She joked lightly before leaning in closer to the red-headed Hyur named Melle. "Don't tell me you get sea-sick?" Fay inquired with a quizzical look.
Cima contorted her face in an elaborate, insolent expression (behind Salaah's back, ofcourse) before muttering some spawn-of-a-foul-phrase beneath her breath. 'Spin a better sob story... but that was pure gold!' She thought with another sniff - though this time the sound was one of impertinence, not sorrow. At least they were getting on their way... she'd bother Wilfie for a drama lesson when they returned home. 'Maybe it was the old comment...' Scratching her cheek as she mused over the new twist to their story, the lens of her vision adjusted to take in the rough arrival of the Captain. She glanced between the characters and their faces, taking special note, before sauntering along with the mini herd.
Her brow and ears quirked at Tyriont's actions - not that she particularly cared, she was just making an observation. With a 'plop' she landed alongside Melle, turning toward her friend and offering her hands just in case her assistance was needed. Seemed she was okay, so Cima made herself comfortable.
"I'd imagine so. Hey, captain, your ship has big buckets, right?" Tail twitching, she gestured toward the Elezen with a lift of her chin, meanwhile casting the blonde-haired Hyur a curious stare.
-She was in a dash, nearly out of breath as she ran through crowds, and down to the docks. Luckily she was relatively small most didn't notice her slipping past them. Careful her weaponry didn't accidentally swipe someone. The tiny Miqo'te gestured a hand out as she darted down the docks towards the boat.
"Ah! Wait for me!"
She seemed like she was running quite late, her armor seemed heavy on her small frame. Though a nice fat bag of Gil jingled at her hip as she galloped down the dock with a commotion about her. Armor slightly clanging and her large axe strapped along her back was almost to large for her. Her white hair fell over her face as she stopped at the end of the dock inhaling a sharp gasp for air as she bent over. For the gear she wore didn't seem like being a marauder was much of a strong suit. Yet she swiftly took the air into words as she panted slightly,
"P-please tell me... This boat is going to Limsa..."
She struggled to regain herself, she was well weighted down with her pack and armor settled on herself. Her body forced itself upright as she remember the words of her mother scolding her for slouching and looking so weak with her gear assorted along herself. She forced a bit of a smile in hope for passage to Limsa, her tail coiled along her leg shyly though, a bad habit she was always unable to break.-
Melle was only starting to get comfortable–that wasn't the right word–when she was reminded that she hadn't exactly shown good manners. She'd overlooked the blonde woman's scheming in favor of trying to propel theirs forward, but she guessed while-still-lucid was as good a time as any to fraternize.
Lady, sea-sick is the understatement of this era, she wanted to say, but realized they were in the presence of the Captain, whom Cima had just addressed. Uh-oh. Captains didn't usually like mess. Or the threat of it. Melle smiled at their fellow passenger as thanks for the reminder whether or not she understood why.
"Uh, no!" she laughed and put on a bright smile. "It's just that, uh, my sister Cima and I here're exceptionally good at catching vermin. What we meant is–when we're done with the Phoenix Flame–you're gonna need a bucket for all the ones we catch! ...Or, you know, we could just toss 'em off one by one. Whichever you prefer."
That was more believable than gramps, right? Even though they really were visiting an old geezer and the first story had more truth to it.
There was little time to gauge the Captain's reaction when they heard distinct yelling. Melle didn't know if it was the cumbrous armor or the gigantic axe or the enviable amount of gil she could hear from the Miqo'te, but the newcomer looked ready to be swindled, especially given what the Captain had said earlier about taking their money. Poor thing. But maybe this was for the best. The more people to keep track of, the better for them.
She nodded. "Just in time!"
Tyriont grabbed the oars of the small boat and started rowing as soon as his passengers were safely on board. He glanced over at the other boat, signaling his crew members to allow the late arrival on board before their own departure. As both boats reached a somewhat safe distance, the docks erupted into noise and movement. From the same direction Tyriont himself had come from arrived a very large, very angry looking Roegadyn. He was brandishing what to him may have been a knife, but to a normal person was clearly a small sword. He waved the weapon in the air as he saw the boats pulling away, furious as he called out after them.
"Ge' back 'ere, y'thrice curs'd son'uva dodo! I'll carve off them ears an' shove 'em right up yer..." Tyriont cut the man off, yelling back a retort.
"Not really enticing me to return, friend! And I'll say it again, she told me she was single!" He shot an apologetic smile at his passengers, lingering a little at the sight of the clearly seasick girl. "Sorry about all that commotion. I assure you, our departures are usually much smoother. Don't worry about that fellow...he didn't seem like he had too much going on upstairs, if you understand. I hope you don't think me too terribly rude for not introducing myself to you properly. Once we reach the ship, we'll have time for pleasantries. Oh, and...if you're going to hurl, please do it over the side of the ship? It's quite cramped right now."
Over in the other boat, Salaah and Agile Wolf caught each other's look and sighed. Agile Wolf smiled wryly at their passengers as she rowed.
"Forgive the Cap'n. He's not as bad as he seems right now, I promise. He's just got a weakness something fierce when it comes to a pretty lass flashing him a bit of flesh. You can count on him when the going's rough, I swear to it." Salaah nodded, grinning.
"Don't worry. Soon as we reach the Flame, we'll slow down and introduce ya proper like. Just sit back and enjoy the ride fer now!"
Xha'li jumped lightly into the boat, his grace belaying his apparent taillessness. Stowing his pack under the bench he sat down by the side and put his hand on his wand ready to make an attempt at a shield if it came down to it. At this point another Miqo'te came up in heavy armor with a full bag of gil on her belt shouting for them to wait up. Xha'li couldn't help but wonder how long she'd been out adventuring if she was keeping so much gil so readily steal-able. Even when he was only a few days out of his tribe he knew to keep his gil hidden on his person, and that wasn't even covered in the 'lessons' he'd had as teen once it became apparent he'd be the Moui from this generation that would go adventuring.
Any further thoughts on the matter were shelved as a Roegadyn came charging into view waving what Xha'li guess he considered his knife and yelling at the captain for doing something that made him want to cut off his ears and shove them up somewhere. Xha'li simply nodded at the explanation of the Captain's 'weakness'. Figuring they were unlikely to be heading back he shrugged out of his cloak and pulled his tail out from under his shirt giving a small sigh as it lashed about behind him, almost looking like it was reprimanding him for confining him. Figuring he'd forestall the inevitable questions he grinned, and said "Yes I have a tail. I just kept it hidden to keep that twelves blasted sand out of my fur. Getting it out is not fun, and if I don't it starts to itch something awful after a few hours."
Monty stepped on the boat after Xha'... Xha'... Xha'something, doing a little dance to keep himself upright. He'd forgotten how annoying reacquiring your sea legs could be, and quickly took a seat beside the tailless Miqo'te to prevent any mishaps. He brought his pack down from his shoulder and placed it on his lap, keeping a hand tightly gripped on the drawstring - Maelstrom lesson number one: You can trust a seadog with your life, but not your belongings.
Just as they were about to get underway another Miqo'te came sprinting toward them, wearing armor that looked a size too big and displaying her purse a bit too proudly. He sighed again - that seemed to be quickly becoming habit -, and the good Captain waved his approval for the girl to board. One more couldn't hurt, he supposed - in the likely event the privateers decided to rob them they'd have decent numbers on their side.
Not long after casting off the commotion he'd heard along the docks finally reached them in the form of a pissed-as-all-seven-hells Roegadyn, shouting and gesturing like mad in their general direction. Monty had been half expecting a contingent of Blades, so learning of the lover's spat was something of a relief. He idly wondered how the promised introductions would go.
Xha'something shifted next to him, suddenly sprouting a tail, and Monty's lone eye blinked. He nodded at the quick explanation, he could appreciate the sentiment. He himself wouldn't miss emptying the sand out of his eyepatch.
After a moment of silence his ears twitched, and he turned toward their gracious hosts. "Um... What're the chances that, uh... Lover-boy back ashore has his own ship?"
"Thank you!"
-She smiled slightly as her steps seemed to make her winced a bit onto the boat carefully as she managed to balance herself rather swiftly regardless of her overcombered state. But settled down as she rested her tail along her hip near her pouch. She didn't seem seasoned in traveling as others, though her axe gave a false experience in that being slightly worn in from fighting was all she really knew.
Her ears shifted and ticked at different sounds. Her white bangs drifted over her miscolored eyes as she looked back towards exchanging of shouts over the water.Â
She looked more relaxed that she had managed to make her way onto a boat. Her gauntlet covered palm rested on her cheek forgetting the thoughts of sea sickness for her excitement of traveling had consumed her. She glanced occasionally among the other passengers, but kept to herself on the topics of conversations. Her body staying quite still in more of a fear of falling over board.-
The idea of having the girl becoming sick in the boat was not all that pleasant of a thought, but Faydrel was able to push the ideas away as a loud eruption of noise came from the now distant docks. Her lingering gaze forced away from the young woman and focused in on a rather disgruntled Roegadyn holding what would have appeared to be a dagger in his large and gruff looking hands. Faydrel then leaned back away from the young lady she questioned and pressed her pink lips together to let out an audible whistle. "I somehow doubt that asking him to join in would have been a viable solution." She commented with a small snort as her gaze tore away from the commotion on the docks and back to the rest of the passengers on board their commandeered fishing vessel.
She appeared to be ignoring all that was going around her in that moment as the pack from her shoulder dropped to the boat's floor. Fay scooted the large adventurers' bag in front of her and began to rummage through its contents. Their were rustling sounds of papers, metal, and other odd thunks and clangs. As she searched through her bag her blonde brows began to burrow together and a small scowl formed on her lips. "...need to organize this better." she muttered sourly until she let out a small noise of victory and soon a small leather sack emerged with her hand.
"Here you go, Red. On the house." Faydrel chirped as she casually tossed the bag towards the girl's lap. If the young Hyur woman were to investigate the contents of the bag she'd find it full of what appeared to be some kind of crystallized dried fruit, or root as the case was. "Nibble on a bit of that ginger and it should keep the nausea at bay. ....Or use it to bate the rodents." Fay went on to explain with the small joke as she strapped her bag closed and shifted herself so she was sitting against the edge of the vessel and lifted her legs up on the bench she was occupying.
Melle took to picking at a dock cleat as the Captain began to row. Maybe this time, despite her twenty-one years of failure, mind over matter would prove true - or not, when by instinct she whipped her head at the racket coming from the pier. Ooh, she regretted that.
Then she saw it, or could tell by his angry flailing: the livid expression on that Roegadyn ashore. Growing headache aside, this could not be passed up! He and his Captain-cleaver were too far from them to gain on them, wasn't he? Probably. Melle waved back at the fellow with an irrepressible grin while the Captain yelled out his reasons (typical), and nodded later when he told her to let it out over the ship's edge if she had to. Infidelity wasn't funny at all, or ever, but nothing could be done if the man had let this Elezen get away in a crowd. In that light, nothing could pick her up like the sight of random fury!
...And free things, of course! Melle tried to ignore the boat's infernal swaying as Faydrel tossed her the small sack. "Thank you, kind lady," she bowed her head in a mock-stately manner, pulling the bag open and showing Cima its contents. "Crystallized ginger? Never thought to try 'em..." Melle grabbed one, sniffed (smelled safe to her), and popped it into her mouth.
Her features twisted oddly at the sudden taste. She recovered easily and shot the woman a grateful smile. This was good, and she wasn't too bad, for a questionable stranger. (Wasn't whoever took this ship instead?) Especially if these worked. Besides, Cima would avenge her if she started frothing at the mouth. Sitting up straight and eating another, Melle offered her friend the bag of spicy-sweetness before turning and searching ahead for the Phoenix Flame.
Agile Wolf merely smiled at the suggestion that the furious man back on shore may have his own ship, although she started rowing noticeably faster. Before long, both boats had arrived at the Phoenix Flame proper. A large ship, built to the same specifications as the famous Astalicia which spent most of its days now moored in Limsa Lominsa. As they bumped up against the side, a rope ladder was tossed over the side and down to the vessels. Tyriont indicated for the other boat to empty first, and Salaah darted up the ladder while Agile Wolf kept it steady.
"Either carry your stuff up with you, or give it to me and I'll toss it up when you're topside." the large woman ordered. "C'mon, make it fast." As she spoke, a second rope ladder was thrown down landing right in front of Tyriont's boat. Reaching over and grabbing it, he pulled the dinghy closer.
"Alright ladies, up you go. Anything you can't carry, leave with me and we'll haul it up with the boat."