The Free Docks

After passing through the gates Temus with Azure, immediately headed to the docks. As they wound through the crowded streets Temus clutched his spell book tightly to his chest. His breathing speeds up just the tiniest fraction when he sees the ships. Still his voice remains perfectly calm despite his mounting nervousness.

"I assume you have traveled by sea before. Would you care to tell me what it is like?"

Temus lets out a long slow breath. It wasn't rough water that worried him, but he decided not to let on to that. Things would be fine, it was just a few weeks in cramped quarters nothing to worry about. Except it did worry him quite a bit. Still he had resolved to do this and he would. He finds a Gauldish merchant ship and talks with the quartermaster. After a few minutes of conversation he has secured passage for two to Gauldin. The boat does not leave until tomorrow.

"We will have to spend the night in an inn. Hopefully we can find one before dark."

<Exit to Stark's Inn.>

Skarlet exits the carriage with her belongings she decided to take with her. She looks around at the docks, it reminded her of the docks in Medan, but better. She's intrigued to see all the ships that were currently docked. She points at the ships and asks, "We're going on one of those?"

“Good morning, Liz; good morning, St. George. The ride over here was short and uneventful, the road seems satisfactory. As for these docks, though…”

Naoki trails off, gesturing to the area around them at large. As if on cue, the morning silence is punctuated by some out-of-sight sailor cursing loudly at something. Additionally, a seagull comes to find purchase on a nearby crate of some description, and proceeds to defecate upon it while maintaining eye contact with Naoki.

Naoki is silent for a few moments longer before continuing, in a slightly lower tone, “Not quite the shining bastion of magnificent naval might I paid for, but I’m sure they’re working on it. _{They had better be.}”

Dropping the thought, Naoki glances first behind her, at Skarlet, apparently loaded up with belongings, and then over at St. George’s saddlebags, visibly filled. She nods slightly, mostly to herself. “It seems like we’re all about prepared to leave. The only question now is what to do next. I informed naval command that I intended to take this voyage at this date and time, so, hopefully, one of these ships ought to be prepared for our departure. We just need to figure out which one it is.”

"Good Morning to you, Miss Finch. I don't believe we've met yet, I am Lady Naoki's daughter, Skarlet." Skarlet offered her gloved hand to shake, she assumed that was how she should greet the gryphon rider. Once contact was made between Skarlet and Liz's hands, Liz may feel the coldness of Skarlet's hand, even through her glove, It was like shaking hands with a snowman. The vampire looked over as the Orc arrived, it seemed he was the one who would bring them to Gauldin. She hoped that the Orc wouldn't pay much mind to Skarlet, unsure of if he could identify a vampire or what his opinion may be of vampires.

Liz grins and reaches over to shake Skarlet's hand. She had of course known exactly who the girl was, while they had never been formally introduced, Liz was well-informed, amd had seen the girl numerous times at the Midnight Sun. Her hand was cold, even through the glove, something that only momentarily surprised her. Liz also returned Gothmog's salute with a formal one of her own, noting that in spite of his....lackadaisical attempt at protocol, his uniform was spotless, and he certainly looked capable.

"I am glad to meet you Skarlet, Lady Naoki has told me much about you. I am glad the journey was uneventful, although what I hear is my Naval Battalion is camped out along the road while the barracks are being constructed, is it the main road?"

An eyebrow is raised at Gothmog’s mention of an adjacent room for Liz. One could walk from one end to the other in only a few minutes. An temporary, adjoining room on the top deck for Liz to sleep in sounds like it would be highly extraneous, and leaky, besides. But, Naoki supposes, she isn’t quite the naval architect, is she? There would still (hopefully) be room in her cabin for Liz, anyway.

However, what she was really looking for from Gothmog was an estimated time of departure. If they could go ahead and board now and not be in the way, or if they should wait for an hour or two more while the ship continues loading for another hour or two.

Rather than asking this directly, and perhaps getting caught in a discussion she isn’t quite prepared to have about the specifics of preparing a ship for departure, Naoki decides that they’ll just board the damn ship.

“Well. Then let’s go ahead. Artemis will catch up.”

With a hand motion that doesn’t necessarily disclude Gothmog, but isn’t intended as an order in case he has other things to be doing, Naoki suggests that the group follow her as she leads the way toward the ship Gothmog identified as the Dakota.

She pauses at the gangplank as two men carry some manner of crate aboard, and proceeds to follow them up onto the ship’s deck. She doesn’t linger at the top of the plank, instead choosing to cross directly over to an area of the deck that doesn’t seem to be in the way of anyone doing anything important. Her balance seems unaffected even as the ship rolls slightly; her tail easily compensates.

Once waiting for everyone to follow her up and for Skarlet to find her way to her side, Naoki begins to speak, “Ready for some naval education, Skarlet?” Without waiting for a response, Naoki continues, “Like Captain Bloodsail said, this is what they call a ‘ship of the line’.”

Naoki taps the deck with her toe, indicating the ship that they’re currently standing on, what with its large size, and incredible armament, relative to the other vessels present.

“...Which sounds like a bit of funny name, considering that the ship itself doesn’t seem very much like a line, but it’s actually a descriptive name relating to how the ship is designed to be used in combat. You see how all along the side of the ship, there are a whole bunch of ballista, pointed outward? The idea is such so that you take a few ships like this one- the more the merrier, and line them up end to end, like ducks in a row, and then sail the whole line past whatever it is you’d like dead, and shoot it to hell with all of your side-mounted weapons. Hence, ‘ship of the line’, because you use it in a line of ships. Or a line of battle. Or however else you might want to term it.”

“When they’re all finished, Isra ought to have seventeen of this type of vessel, as one of the primary components of the fleet. Those smaller ones down there,” Naoki continues, pointing to the ship directly adjacent to their own, “...those are frigate-built warships, which means that they were built with speed and maneuverability in mind. The name comes from the Prizzian word “fregata”, which means essentially the same thing. We’re going to be using them primarily- both in this instance and in the broader sense of Isra’s naval strategy, as escorts. For trade convoys and such. We’ll have twenty-four of those, once all is said and done and barring any accidents.”

Naoki spends a moment squinting off the side before pointing off down the docks, intending to indicated one of the docked ships “And then, way down there, you see that squarish-looking one, with only a few ballista? That ship isn’t intended to fight for itself, but rather to carry griffins into battle! A carrier, if you will. Each one can carry a whole bunch of griffins like St. George here, as well as their riders and support staff. It’s basically a big stable on a boat, but it’s an incredible tactical asset. Can you imagine, sailing about on the open sea as an enemy of Isra, and then being set upon by a whole company's worth of armored griffin riders, riding out of the sun, spears gleaming? Because the ships, they’re not equipped to fight griffins. They’re equipped to fight ships; ballista don’t shoot up, and griffins are fast. And even marines aren’t really prepared to fight off the sheer, magnificent force that is an armored griffin with rider. The hope is that some of Liz’ specially trained units will be able to land on and kill the crew of enemy vessels without significant threat of retaliation. It ought to be highly effective, and I hope to see it in action at some point.”

Those familiar with the cat-woman might note a hint of pride creeping into her voice as she speaks about the carriers. The idea was, at least to some extent, hers, and to see it enacted and seemingly quite promising is somewhat fulfilling.

“Oh, and there are also schooners, these tiny ones. They’re just light sailing ships with mounted weapons, really. Can carry some cargo, too. Not too much to say about them, other than they’re cheap and numerous. I'm not really sure where the name comes from. We’ll have a bunch of those as part of the navy, too. It ought to be a damn fine navy, once it’s finished.”

With that, Naoki nods solidly, mostly to herself, and concludes her impromptu lecture, leaning against the ship’s railing, and keeping one ear in constant motion, monitoring the various movements and activities as the sailors prepare to depart.

Liz opts to land on the deck, St. George flying, or really performing a sort of hop, onto the deck next to what appeared to be the aforementioned stable. It was sufficiently roomy for the griffin, the floor laid over temporarily by flagstone to make it easier to clean. She places her bags down in what was clearly a stowage area, figuring she would move them later should she decide to sleep elsewhere. When that was accomplished she walked out onto the deck to rejoin Naoki and Skarlet.

Presumably, Artemis boards the ship in due time, bringing with her the luggage. After the personal belongings of her group have been stowed away, and everything seems to be in order, Naoki turns to address Gothmog, “We are prepared to get underway whenever you are, Captain. Please proceed at your leisure.”