Elani had to stifle a laugh when the dwarf handed back her pen. Not since that night at the opera had she been forced to keep her laughter bottled up inside of her. She was just so... dwarfy, was the best way of putting it. So stereotypical. She managed to hide her grin behind a hand and a coughing sound. Luckily, the girl didn't seem to notice, or if she did, she didn't make it obvious. Elani looked down at the paperwork, and crossed off a few of the more restrictive sub-clauses. Nothing major, just little alterations to the contract that weren't... fully legal, strictly speaking. She was just behind the dwarf and ready to hand in the documents when they appeared in around the corner. She had to twist her head to the side to see all of them, and she wished she hadn't. Practically all of them carried swords. All they'd need to do was stab downwards and the entire rickety plank they, and the ship they were moored to, would crack and fall tumbling into the abyss. Elves were a race some believed were descended from the harpies of yore, with a famously light bone structure mainly composed of cartilage, but that didn't mean she wouldn't become an instant tenderized steak when she made her impact on the ground. She swallowed.

The leader of the hoarde barked his demands. 

"T-the captain?" She stuttered, where nobody could hear her. It struck her that she didn't exactly know his name. On all the paperwork he was just marked as Employer. The ship, as was plain to anyone who could read the name painted haphazardly on the side, was "The compass", but what was her captain's name? Elani raised a trembling hand, and pointed toward Maithien. Maybe if she cooperated, she'd get out of here with just her legs broken. With her one free hand, she inched her way down to the leather cave slung across one shoulder, and rummaged around in it. Her hands closed around a walnut grip. At this range, it'd be nigh on useless, but at least it'd make her feel better to go down swinging.