The Port of Avelius. [Post Here First.]

The Depravity made her way to the largest pier she would fit at, guided by the skilful hand of her Captain Bloodsail. It would take but a few minutes for the ship to get situated on the docks to the Captain's satisfaction, amd then the gangplank would drop down to the dock. Sailors stood by, waiting for Naoki to head down onto the pier so they could start offloading the travelling party's supplies and luggage.

Alli wore her usual attire as she appeared behind Naoki nearly silently, her weapon slung across her back as she moved around to Naoki's right following her appearance.

She casually leaned against the railing and remarked on the city's appearance.

"It's certainly a beautiful city, from a distance anyway. Lets just hope that the smell is related to the fish at the docks and not the city.

Standing by as Alli and Ying-Na approach, Naoki nods noncommittally in response to both of their comments, with no real strong feelings to articulate on either matter. However, once they’re both present, she launches directly to business.


“So, in terms of itinerary, my plans are as thus. This is Avelius, the quote unquote capital of Alban. The King, Averin Ararch sits here. He was present at the summit and already signed The Accord on behalf of the humans of Alban. Technically, if our business were strictly limited to The Accord, we wouldn’t have any reason to be here. But it’s not, so we’re here to pay a visit.”

Turning on the spot, Naoki makes a wide gesture toward An'Arach'Rí Keep, just off to their left ways.

“I would assume that that building there is An'Arach'Rí Keep, the seat of government. So we’re going to mosey our way over there with a cart loaded with gifts and hopefully spend some time with him. Perhaps there will be some manner of elaborate reception ceremony, I’m unsure. But he’s been informed of my intent, and ought to be expecting us.”

Turning to glance to her other side, and upward slightly, Naoki addresses Ying-Na directly, “If you’d prefer not to come, I’m not going to ask you to. I’m unaware of the Keep’s Wildebeest Policies, and there may be something to do in the city, here. I leave the choice to you. In any case, I see no reason not to depart immediately.”

Making an elaborate or perhaps completely random series of gestures that someone is evidently intended to interpret as some manner of coherent message, Naoki begins to move from her spot in on the railing toward the gangplank, and then proceeds down it, onto the dock. She then steps off to the side, holds her hands behind her back, and waits for a moment.

Following shortly behind Naoki, a pair of stout looking, strapping gentlemen come. They are dressed identically, in black turtleneck sweaters. Between them, they carry a fairly large trunk, large enough to fit either of them inside, made of wood but lacking any particular ornamentation or identification. Upon reaching the end of the gangplank, they make eye contact with Naoki, who nods once in response.

Wordlessly, Naoki turns on the spot and begins down the pier, one wrist in the other hand behind her back. Equally silent, the two men follow behind at a comfortable distance.

[Exit to An'Arach'Rí Keep]

Ying-Na shrugged. "My assignment is to help protect you and get to know the continent more personally. If you don't think my presence is required at the keep I'd like to get to know the locals better on my own. I assume Alli can take care of you just fine."

Ying-Na hopped up onto her mount and patted the top of Indigo's head. "We'll meet up later then." She nodded to the two ladies before heading off in Avelius' general direction.

<Exit>

A small, nondescript galley, far too small to serve as a trade ship or transport vessel, pulls into the port. At the bow of the ship, staring out at the port, stands a swarthy-skinned, one-eyed man, clad in silver scale mail and a fur-lined helmet, stands. He has one hand on the sword at his belt, while the other rests on the mane of a brown and grey horse that is laden down with a saddle and half-filled saddlebags. As the ship pulls into the pier and a gangplank is lowered, seven similarly-armed men form a semi-circle behind the one-eyed man.


Without looking back at the men surrounding him, the one-eyed man nods, and leads his - remarkably calm - horse off the gangplank, and onto the pier. As he does so, two of the other men –one an older-looking, white-haired man, and the other seemingly just out of his teens - follows him off. At a nod from the white-haired man, the young man runs to find the port officials and complete any necessary paperwork. Although the ship clearly has more than one member on board, the young man would write down only the name, Maris Guess, and on the line that asks him to state his business, the young man simply writes the word, Work.


As the young man runs off, the one-eyed man turns towards the white haired man. The two men shake hands, and the older man takes the one-eyed man in a great bear hug. Once the one-eyed man manages to wriggle himself free of the other’s grip, he reaches into one of the horses saddlebags, and withdraws a sealed letter, which he hands to the older man. The older man takes the letter, turns, and stiffly walks back up the gangplank and onto the ship. The ship waits just long enough for the young man to return, and then, without any ado, the ship’s crew pulls the gangplank back onto the ship, and the galley begins to make its way out of port. At the end of the pier, the one-eyed man watches the ship depart, then mounts his horse and rides further into the city.

Ying-Na happened to be approaching the Depravity on her wildebeest. She was accompanied by a young man who was riding a horse. They seemed to be chatting merrily. Indigo was laden with several large packages.

When they got close enough, Ying-Na bid the young man adieu. The man responded with a little wink and bid his steed to turn around. Ying-Na then boarded the ship.

"Well now!" She cried out just as the beast made it to the top of the gang blank. "I hope your trip was as fruitful as mine?"

Ying-Na copies Naoki's little head tilt with a soft smile. "Ah, yes, well..." She gestures towards the packages. "I got food." She walks over and carefully removes a package so she can reveal its contents. She takes her time with the wrapping and continues to speak. "I was getting to know the local people and I found out a few things about the commoners. For one thing, this coastal town and other like it... have almost no wielders of magic."

The package was nearly open and a hardy, meaty, pastry-like smell erupted from a crack in the paper. "Further inland there are wards that help protect the humans from the Wyld. Since only a small percentage of humans born here have magical affinity, they almost all get sent there. It was actually a nice change of pace, being around people who can't throw fireballs and stuff like my husband and daughter. But yah, since the Black Tower and the coalition's armed forces rely heavily on magic, it might be something to keep in mind when getting along with the people of Avelius. They're not used to seeing magic everywhere. Hey!" She waved towards some of the ship's crew members. "You guys wanna try some of this? They call it steak and kidney pie. I don't know how many actual kidneys are in it..."

A large, steaming pastry was revealed. Hopefully some crew members would come, but if not she'd shrug and start putting the package away before switching to another package. "Then again, there are schools of magic that allow even those without affinity to learn a bit. I was asking around, and it seems like if a magic school were to open here, it might change the balance of power on the continent and actually bring humans to the fore. I'm not saying that's right or wrong, but you know, consequences of your actions, proceeding with prudence blah blah blah." The second package contained several rolls of glazed bread. "They're filled with something called frangipane. I'm not gonna pretend to know what that is." She started eating one.

"Mmm, I also got to meet some of the dwarfs. Of all the races the dwarfs and humans seem to get along the best. They have this, how would you explain it... They both have an adversarial relationship with the Wyld, and rely on what they see as their own strength and ingenuity to survive, unlike the other two races who are more on the whole, coexisting side of the spectrum. I told them about the Land-Tillers and they think we're freaks. Haha. And the dwarfs here seem nice enough. They at least got a good sense of humor, and are quite the arm wrestlers."

As Ying-Na said this last bit she stretched out one of her hands and shook her arm and winced, as if she had discovered this last bit of information the hard way. "But the bar guy warned me to be careful about the dwarfs of the hills. See these guys here?" She gestured to some of the dwarfs walking along the dock. "They're sea guard and merchant class. That means compared to the other castes they're kind of eccentric, more free thinking. We can expect the dwarfs of the hills to be somewhat more... severe. Should be fun. Would you like a pastry high lady?"

She offered one to the cat-eared woman.

Ying-Na was enjoying her food with gusto and had to take a moment to swallow. "Ah, to be honest I'm still not that sure. I know the dwarfs have a, meritocracy, right? They respect skill and ability. But... Hmm, I guess for them it's all about things they can feel and touch... what's the word? Tangibility. They respect things with a strong presence. I can tell they won't be easy to bullshit. They're a very practical people. Hmm, that might also explain why the merchants sometimes feel disrespected even though they've got a lot of power. Their 'skill set' is more, umm, abstract I guess. It's not so easily quantified. Things like military prowess, the building of homes, blacksmithing, those are all things you can see, feel, and touch. Those are the things they respect the most. At least that's the general impression I got."

She shrugged. "This ship will impress them. That's for sure." She gestured out towards the dock. There were in fact some dwarfs observing the ship with nods of approval. Ying-Na waved at them.

"Adventurers get the least amount of respect because their success depends a great deal on idealism and luck. In the meantime they contribute nothing to society. I don't think they'd like Jun very much." She sighed somewhat bitterly.

Alli had thus far listened to the conversation between Naoki and Ying-Na without paying much attention, instead focusing on giving warning glares to any sailor who pressed too close to the attractive High Lady of Isra, but she felt the need to ask a question following the observation of lack of mages.

"I was given to understand that it was the power of the sword wielded by the King that now kept the Wyld at bay. Does that not mean that the mages could be repurposed now? Or are there jobs just easier?"

If they were dedicated to the task of warding, that meant any group of rogue mages would cause immense problems in the city, hopefully the King kept some on hand for such an eventuality.