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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220927/23fb834f443fddf069b302a80ffae13a.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220927/713c9ea7f90a3bccf2680492bc93671a.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220928/bcf4c8fb894d886cf1f86d12d903935e.png[/img]

[color=1E90FF][b]Time[/b]: Late Evening / Night[/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Location[/b]: Sorian Waterfront >> [i]Sada Kurau[/i][/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Interactions[/b]: [/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Mentions[/b]: [/color] Dahlia Fletcher [@princess]
[color=1E90FF][b]Attire[/b]: [hider]
[url=https://i.postimg.cc/8z5xjhFf/b73aac48-9c15-4c53-9289-37731ac8aace.png](Placeholder until I get a better reference image)[/url]
Roughspun, blue trousers
A shoulder belt and waist belt carrying his equipment
Two swords and two pistols, one on either side
A woven, conical hat wide enough to shade his entire face
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For the second time in less than half-a-day, Sjan-dehk left the Privateers’ Office. He moved with haste, his boots thumping loudly against well-trodden planks as he marched across the veranda and jogged down its steps to reach the cobblestones of the waterfront. 

There wasn’t much of a crowd – Sjan-dehk supposed that it was late enough that most people had already found their haunts for the rest of the evening. Even so, there was still a steady trickle of longshoremen still grimey from labour; of well-to-do citizens who gave them wide berths; and of commoners strolling leisurely along the waterfront. Some moved with purpose, their heads bowed, shoulders hunched, and coats pulled tight against the chilly seaward breeze. Others instead stopped every so often to bask in the warm, yellow glows of street lamps, and gaze out over the dark waters of the harbour.

Sjan-dehk didn’t know what they were looking at. He heard no waves, and he doubted that the lamps were bright enough to show passers-by anything more than an endless, black expanse. But perhaps there was an attractive mystique to that, to stand before an ink-black void.

He shook his head and quickened his pace, pulling his hat a little lower over his eyes and holding the ratty book and bundle of fabrics in his arm close to his chest. This wasn’t any time to ponder; [i]Sada Kurau[/i] was waiting for him to return before she could finally sail out for her mission. She would have gone out earlier, before the sun had fully set, had Sjan-dehk not needed to pay the Privateers’ Office another visit. It hadn’t been a long one, thankfully, but still he felt embarrassed for having needed to make it in the first place. 

[color=DC143C]“Good evenin’, Cap’n,”[/color] a vaguely familiar voice called out to him. Sjan-dehk looked up and to his left, and saw a vaguely familiar man walk towards him. His head of fiery hair was in a mess, as was his green coat, unbuttoned down the middle to display a brown waistcoat and off-white shirt. Both his hands held onto the handles of a heavy crate. 

[color=1E90FF]“Good evening,”[/color] Sjan-dehk replied and furrowed his brow. [color=1E90FF]“Captain…”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“Cynric,”[/color] the man completed for him with a mischievous grin as he approached. He hefted the crate with a grunt and rested it against his thigh. [color=DC143C]“Dae’n tell me yer’ve forgotten aw’ready?”[/color]

Sjan-dehk nodded sheepishly. [color=1E90FF]“Apologies. Your names, they are still strange to me. Hard to say. Harder to remember.”[/color] He glanced at the crate. [color=1E90FF]“These are…Supplies? No. Provisions?”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“Aye,”[/color] Cynric replied. [color=DC143C]“Figured I’d get ta’ lads an’ lassies some good drink tae keep ‘em ‘appy fae a whiles longer. Nae sailor like stayin’ in ‘arbour fae tae long, ‘tis sae.”[/color] He then tilted his chin towards the book and bundle that Sjan-dehk was carrying. [color=DC143C]“An’ I see yer’ve taken tae privateerin’?”[/color]

[color=1E90FF]“Yes,”[/color] Sjan-dehk replied, shades of his surprise showing through. [color=1E90FF]“How do you know?”[/color]

Cynric grinned. [color=DC143C]“I wan’ tae say that I recognise ‘at signal book that yer carryin’, but nae, ‘tis nae that. I jus’ saw you leavin’ tae privateer’s office earlier,”[/color] he said. [color=DC143C]“Hope yer dae’n mind me askin’, but did yer jus’ sign up, or are yer headin’ out on a job?”[/color]

[color=1E90FF]“[i]Sada Kurau[/i] will sail, yes,”[/color] Sjan-dehk said. “I joined in the afternoon, but I forgot to ask about your signals and your flags.” A sheepish tone tinted his words. As far as mistakes went, that was one that a captain as experienced as Sjan-dehk shouldn’t have made – signalling was how a ship talked, and it was as vital to a ship as her sails or hull or crew – and that he had made it brought him some modicum of shame. He took it as a lesson learned, however. At least now he knew one thing he had to look out for when sailing waters beyond the Commonwealth’s borders. 

[color=DC143C]“Ah, dae’n s’pose yer mind ‘avin’ an extra ship tae ‘elp?”[/color] Cynric asked. [color=DC143C]“I was jus’ thinkin’ o’ signin’ mysel’ and my crew up as privateers tae, aye. Figured ‘at if I lend yer a ‘and, it migh’ dae us some favours in tiltin’ ta’ odds in our favour, ‘tis sae.”[/color]

He grinned again. [color=DC143C]“An’ maybe it migh’ convince yer tae put in a good word, tae.”[/color]

Neither of those seemed necessary to Sjan-dehk. Based on what he had seen, Kerr would be overjoyed to have another ship that wasn’t a gunboat, and a captain who knew what he was about, at his disposal. But Sjan-dehk was in a rush, and he had dawdled for long enough. And besides, if he was going to go hunting for an unknown ship – or ships – in the dark, he wasn’t about to turn away extra sets of eyes to help keep an eye out for things. 

And so, he nodded. [color=1E90FF]“Okay. That is good. How soon can you sail?”[/color]

Cynric hefted the crate off his thigh. [color=DC143C]“As soon as I get this bastard o’ a crate stowed awa’,”[/color] he replied. [color=DC143C]“I’ll ‘ave eyes on yer ship, aye? We’ll make sail when yer start makin’ way.”[/color]

[color=1E90FF]“Yes, that will work,”[/color] Sjan-dehk said. [color=1E90FF]“We should go now. Otherwise, will be too late.”[/color]

[color=DC143C]“Aye.”[/color] Cynwaer grunted as he took a few steps forward, trying to reacquire his balance. [color=DC143C]“I look forward tae sailin’ wi’ yer, Cap’n.”[/color]

Sjan-dehk nodded to him, said a few parting words, and continued on his way. It didn’t take long for him to return to Sada Kurau – the ship was docked only a short distance away from the Privateers’ Office – but it still felt as if he had been away for far too long. He went up the gangway. Just as he took his first step onto [i]Sada Kurau[/i]’s deck, he caught the tail end of a conversation that was going by the bulwark, directly beside the gangway’s landing.

[color=B0E0E6][i]“...don’t know, Inshahri, I-I can’t sense anything.”[/i][/color] It was Yasawen. [color=B0E0E6][i]“L-Look, the Captain’s back. Maybe you should ask him b-before you go any further.”[/i][/color]

That got Sjan-dehk’s attention in an instant, and – the mission momentarily forgotten – he snapped around to face Yasawen. [color=1E90FF][i]“Is there something you plan to do to Sada Kurau that I should – no, I must know about, Yasa?”[/i][/color] 

The boy wilted beneath his gaze, and he looked off to the side. [color=B0E0E6][i]“N-No, Captain,”[/i][/color] he said in a small voice. It didn’t seem as if sending him off to explore [i]Sada Kurau[/i] on his own had done him any favours. If anything, he seemed even more timid than when Sjan-dehk had first seen him. 

[color=B0E0E6][i]“I-Inshahri’s the one who was doing…Things,”[/i][/color] he continued, pointing to the girl standing beside him.

The girl pressed her fingers to her lips and giggled. [color=B0E0E6][i]“Aw, come on, Yasa,”[/i][/color] she said, her voice melodic, and every syllable sounding as if they were part of a song. [color=B0E0E6][i]“Don’t tell me you didn’t have fun chasing down this mystery with me.”[/i][/color]

Yasawen flushed. [color=B0E0E6][i]“I–”[/i][/color]

[color=B0E0E6][i]“You can’t lie to me,”[/i][/color] the girl sang. [color=B0E0E6][i]“I know you too well.”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk sighed and held up his hand. [color=1E90FF][i]“Alright, that’s enough,”[/i][/color] he said and turned to the girl. It took him a moment to remember her name, as well as the reason why she was even aboard [i]Sada Kurau[/i] in the first place. [color=1E90FF][i]“Inshahri, yes?”[/i][/color] He asked.

[color=B0E0E6][i]“That’s me,”[/i][/color] the girl chirped.

Dark of skin and mischievous of face, Inshahri was another arcanist Sudah had sent over – a woodshaper and counter-arcane specialist. Sjan-dehk remembered that part about her clearly; both her specialisations were very much welcome aboard a ship-of-war, and he distinctly recalled being not as annoyed by her late arrival – a few hours after Yasawen – as he should have been because of that very fact. That she seemed to have some history with the geomancer, and was his utter opposite in terms of personality, had appeared to be an added bonus. Sjan-dehk had hoped that her presence would make it easier for Yasawen to ease into becoming part of [i]Sada Kurau[/i]’s crew.

Now, however, that seemed to be wishful thinking.

Yasawen stood ill-at-ease beside her, his eyes looking at the sails; at the pier; at the sea; at everything but Sjan-dehk. His slouched shoulders made Inshahri look even taller than him, beyond the few scant inches that separated them. Coupled with his disheveled clothes – likely a result of squeezing through the narrow hatches and lower decks of [i]Sada Kurau[/i] – he looked quite miserable. 

Sjan-dehk let out a quiet sigh. He would have to do something about the boy at some point. Otherwise, he wasn’t going to last long as part of [i]Sada Kurau[/i].

Shaking his head slightly, Sjan-dehk spoke to Inshahri. [color=1E90FF][i]“So, want to tell me what you’re doing?”[/i][/color]

The girl hummed, her shoulders faintly swaying back-and-forth. [color=B0E0E6][i]“So you know I’m a counter-arcanist, right, Captain? That means I can sense magic and stuff like that.”[/i][/color] She tapped a finger against her lip, turning to look towards the stern, then towards the prow. The cat-like smile on her face never faded. [color=B0E0E6][i]“I just thought I sensed something earlier. Still do, actually! It’s magic, that’s for sure, and it’s not Yasa’s.”[/i][/color]

She looked at the boy with a playful look. [color=B0E0E6][i]“His magic has a nicer song. This one is just weird.”[/i][/color]

Yasawen’s face flushed. [color=B0E0E6][i]“S-Stop it, I know y-you’re just teasing…”[/i][/color] He muttered, eyes looking at the space between his feet.

[color=1E90FF][i]“Enough of that,”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk interjected. He wasn’t quite sure why, but there was something familiar about how the two of them interacted with one another. Whether it was a good thing or not, he still didn’t know. [color=1E90FF][i]“Inshahri, focus for now. When did you start detecting that magic?”[/i][/color]

[color=B0E0E6][i]“Not too long ago. Maybe just a little while before you returned?”[/i][/color] She hummed thoughtfully, then shrugged before wiping her hands over her shirt. It hung loosely about her shoulders, and was messily tucked into a calf-length skirt. A bright, yellow sash tied around her waist completed her simple outfit, one that reminded Sjan-dehk quite a lot of what Iyen preferred to wear. And now that Sjan-dehk took a proper look at her, she even wore her hair in a pair of tails that wasn’t too dissimilar from how Iyen wore hers.

[color=B0E0E6][i]“I tried looking, and Yasa helped, too!”[/i][/color] She continued. [color=B0E0E6][i]“But we didn’t find anything, so I wanted us to go to the holds and the…And the…”[/i][/color] Her smile faded slightly and she scratched her head. [color=B0E0E6][i]“What’s the place with all the gunpowder called?”[/i][/color]

[color=1E90FF][i]“The magazine,”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk said. He turned to Yasawen. [color=1E90FF][i]“You did the right thing, stopping her. Nobody but Young Master Sohn-dahn and his boys, and Master Mursi and his gun crews should be there.”[/i][/color] 

Yasawen smiled hesitantly. [color=B0E0E6][i]“T-Thank you, Captain.”[/i][/color]

[color=B0E0E6][i]“Boo,”[/i][/color] Inshahri whined with a pout. [color=B0E0E6][i]“What about me? I found the magic first, Captain.”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk flashed her a grin. [color=1E90FF][i]“I’ll praise you once we find that magic, Inshahri,”[/i][/color] he said and lifted the book and bundle. [color=1E90FF][i]“Let me get these to Chief Sai-nahn and get us underway. Then, I’ll join the two of you to look for that source of magic. Just do exactly as I say and nothing else. I don’t want anyone accidentally killing themselves before we even leave harbour. It’s bad luck.”[/i][/color]