Graded [Schal Town] - Schal's 11

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke had gotten an early start, thinking of possible places to investigate for a distraction site. Perhaps they could do something with where the snakes were kept. It could be worth investigating.

To Loke’s surprise, Zeke wanted to keep him close. They would be looking for the ship itself today. Most of the crew was already gone likely to look for a good distraction site. “No questions here.” He shook his head. Zeke was straightforward and clear. They looked like a fairly small group of travelers all together so they shouldn’t raise too much suspicion.

 

[Weazel]

It was, all told, a surprisingly quiet night. Zeke didn’t even end up confronting him about his antics. Waking up the next day, Izaak pulled back on his cloak and pulled up the hood, returning to making himself look small and insignificant. He figured it would be best to hang around with Zeke, and thankfully it seemed like the pirate captain though likewise, since he dragged him, along with the one called Loke along with him. Their job was simple: locate the missing ship.

First things first, though. The pirate laid out their objectives, in addition to finding the ship, their little group was also to scout out how well guarded the area was, and try to determine the quickest route from whatever distraction they ended up settling on and the ship’s location. Then, the pirate asked if they had any questions. Loke might not, but Izaak could think of one very important one: “If things go south and we have to scatter, where are we meeting up?”

 

[Goran Glacial]

Adrian banfield

Adrian yawned stretching as he pulled himself out from underneath a tavern table as he shakily walked towards the group. As he got closer you could smell the leftover alcohol on his breath and some squinting of his eyes that told he had a hangover. When adrian finally reached the group he yawned and stretched again before paying attention to what was said. Adrian nodded at various things before realizing he was one the few to scout out distraction points making sigh then shrug.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: NeramoDJI @Pet Panda NebulaBlossom @GR00s Weazel @Weesnaw Goran Glacial
OOC: I'm just adjudicating outcomes. You guys need to tell me what you are doing if anything. Until you start actively doing things and looking into stuff, I can't tell you what trouble you stir or things you see.
Time: 8:10am
Weather: light wind, Cool but not cold, cloudy sky

DillWeed Tavern and Schal​

The party had finally all woken up and gathered at the front of the DillWeed Tavern. While the original crew of the riverboat had departed already at Zeke's encouraging, one of their members did remain with Zeke to assist him in identifying the boat should they find it. If the party stood around too long, they would likely draw notice or get unwanted attention for being in the way. The innkeeper hadn't been paid enough to condone loitering in front of his place of business either as he gave the party a side eye from inside the establishment while he polished mugs.

It was easy to spot a town native. They all wore colorful vests and loose pants or shorts. There was also a lot of finger snapping in schal. Transactions or conversations with agreement would frequently have one or more parties snapping their fingers to come to terms over a matter. Another thing that made the natives somewhat more readily spotted was their level of fitness. Not a single overweight person among them. All were tone or slim. The only individuals with extra weight on them were the merchants and traders coming into port. It wasn't as if they simply dieted either. The tone muscles on display thanks to their vests cut showed off bodies actively exercised. Why arborists and shipbuilders needed bodies of such fitness was unclear.

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke took everything in, noting every detail he could. The city culture was a bit strange, all the finger snapping seeming rather rude to him. He ignored it for now though.

Deciding now was as good a time as any, Loke fell in step beside Zeke, “Captain, what are your thoughts on the snakes? They could be worth looking into for our investment.” He spoke softly but still vague enough to be comfortable speaking out in the open. The discussed only arson the night before but even with people as fit as these, wrangling a mess of giant snakes could prove quite the distraction.

His eyes scanned around, looking for any possible hint at where the snakes may be kept.

 

[Goran Glacial]

Adrian sighed scratching his head as he walked off concerned by the fact he was in a extremely racist place. pulling a hood on low to hide his pointed ears and black eyes adrian pulled a rolled ciggerette from his pock with two pieces of flint striking them together to light it before taking a big drag pocketing the flint. where he got them no one knows but himself as he cackled at the memory of using his mind control the first time thereby convincing the merchant to forget he stole it right in front of them. exhaling a cloud of smoke adrian walked down the walkway towards the guard barracks to see what they had going on and how serious their security was.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: NeramoDJI @Pet Panda NebulaBlossom @GR00s Weazel @Weesnaw Goran Glacial
OOC: Postn since there are things to react to.
Time: 8:20am
Weather: light wind, Cool but not cold, cloudy sky

Schal​

Looking around, Loke would note massive trees towering over the buildings and inner walls of the town to the South West. They were too far away to see details, but it was clear large creatures moved fluidly among the branches of the massive trees. Perhaps, somewhere near the tree farm, one could find the snakes there.

Adrian waltzed off without much knowledge or clue as to where he was going. To find the guards headquarters, it is unclear what he had to do, but its safe to assume he would find it with enough time. After all, how could he not when they insisted he get locked up and perhaps punished for extreme and potentially false charges. The headquarters of the guards was found within the walled portion of eastgate district. While the average populace would ignore him as an outsider, the guards would pay close attention to him as an outsider and easily discerned his 'otherness'. Assuming he was up to no good, they would attempt to apprehend him and haul him to the HQ to be jailed. How would Adrian deal with the 2 guards currently moving toward him. More were likely in the area but not actively doing anything as of yet. (does not trigger danger sense. E grade human guards. armed with spears and daggers at their belts. lightly armored if at all.)

 

[NeramoDJI]

Zeke remained on the move, figuring if they kept moving they'd prevent suspicion from rising, as he began to whisper around to the others. He began with the question posed to him by Izaak. "There's a cave outside of town, near a hill off to the north. I have a... friend waiting for me there." He explained, before shaking his head. "That's if we're lucky enough to get out of here if things go south. At least, if most are able to escape. I've got my way out figured." He said, placing his hands in his pockets. "Now, you lads keep your eyes peeled. If the other group can't find anything we'll think about the snakes. I hate the things, but if we need them we can use them." He said, slowly looking around.

He tried to keep his head above the crowd, scanning around to get the feel for any mannerisms he could copy, immediately catching on to the snapping, starting to do so when he spoke in an effort to mimick the mannerisms. "Alright, so, we're gonna need to sort out a new meeting spot as well. Problem is that innkeeper getting wary. Can't be letting him think we're up to anything until we get the deed done. So keep your heads low and out of trouble." He said, adjusting his cap and putting on a fake smile to seem cheery to outsiders.

 

[Goran Glacial]

Adrian Banfield

Adrian immediately scowled when he caught sight if the guard huffing angrily, slightly annoyed he got buggered so quick when he went knowing he would get buggered either way knowing what kind of town it was. Looking to the side at a shady alley adrian put hand in the shadow of his jack reaching into a space that was that but not at the same time, grabbing his sorcerer's orb out from his shadow pocket adrian released it in mid air cause it to float inside of his jacket as he walked to the alley. Holding his lit cigarette still smoking in his mouth adrian attempted to lead the guard to the alley whilst having his hands free at his side making it seem like he wasn't armed. Adrian was glad he got a sorcerer's orb and not a wand, staff, rod, or scepter seeing as those were meant to be held directly in hand and not operated with magic itself. Inside of his jacket a shadowy aura surrounded thor orb holding it in place. When adrian got far enough down the alley he turned around grabbing the orb a holding between both hands priming the orb for either two spells or a single magic arrows spell.

Shadow Pocket - Shadow affinity E, Spatial Dimension F, Magic Affinity E - 1 post cooldown

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke nodded, letting himself drift a few steps behind Zeke. He made a note that the Southwest was the best place to begin a possible later search for the snakes. Glancing at Izaak, the wolf-man like being didn’t seem to mind him too much despite the disagreement with the plan last night. Seemed the conflict was resolved well enough.

With nothing else pressing, Loke turned his attention back to looking for the boat. His expertise was limited currently but he was still another pair of eyes.

 

[Weazel]

A cave outside of town, huh? Zeke’s description of it was a bit vague, but Izaak figured he could find it if he tried hard enough. On the other hand, acquiring a new meeting place would be a more difficult challenge, there were only so many inns in town, and not all of them were going to accept someone like Izaak walking through their doors. It gave them something of a soft time limit here to find the boat and get out of town, but, the wolfen liked to think he worked well under pressure.

The other one traveling with them – Loke, Izaak throught his name was – suggested looking into using the town’s snakes as part of their distraction. How exactly they would go about doing such a thing, Izaak wasn’t sure, snakes weren’t exactly noisy, and even large ones weren’t big enough to the point that stampeding a bunch of them down the streets in the middle of the night would make much an impact to those locked in their homes for the night. Just how big were these snakes supposed to be, anyway?

In any case, their current task was to look for the boat. Izaak highly doubted that they’d taken the time to lift the thing out of the water. At worst, they probably would have put it in a drydock and drained that, but that would still locate it pretty much right on the water, either the river itself or up some canal. And if they’d put it inside, well, then they were looking for large warehouse looking buildings that open directly into the water. Sure, that all might seem obvious, but reaffirming it to himself made the task ahead of them seem a bit less daunting.

“Captain, I think a walk along the riverside would be good for your health,” Izaak suggested, still trying to make himself seem small and subservient, “Plus, there are lots of interesting things you can see there; the local architecture, for example?”

 

[Novama]

Mentions: NeramoDJI @Pet Panda NebulaBlossom @GR00s Weazel @Weesnaw Goran Glacial
OOC: let's see if we can keep rounds moving now. Adrian is in combat, so only 3 actions may be used at a time. Moving, defending, and attacking each count as their own action.
Time: 8:21am
Weather: light wind, Cool but not cold, cloudy sky

Schal​

Adrian was in a situation. His catalyst did not float freely from his use , but holding it in hand to use the magic didn't lose him any time. The two guards had followed him into the alley as planned. The two magic arrows he released at the appropriate times flew mostly true. One guard took a glancing blow and stumbled back, falling over trash and getting a little soggy from the rain moist ground of yesterday. The other guard blocked the attack with a spin of his spear and charged the remaining 10ft to Adrian to deliver a thrust of his spear towards Adrian's chest. Being attacked with magic, there was no longer a need to hold back. Suspicious profiling validated.

Meanwhile, those down by the tavern started their search for the boat. Those that kept along the water and the docks would run into heavy traffic. Izaak would regularly get special looks. Aside from dockworkers, new arrivals, and guards, another sight was fairly common: slaves. There were many types of slaves flowing in and out of the town. While the locals didn't seem to have much use for slaves to the point of making significant use of them, many of the traders did. Just went to show a non-humans place in this empire. Some of the slaves were well kept and looked nice. Mostly the female ones that wealth individuals used like personal assistants. The male slaves were mostly the burly types capable of heavy work down by the docks, lifting their masters' goods. Most slaves were beastmen, but some fae folk were among their number as well. You could tell they were slaves due to the prominent slave branding on their neck. Like a tattoo, it was a magic seal that couldn't be removed without special arcane means. Izaak would see many a broken soul in the eyes of the beastmen he passed.

The warehouses ahead looked promising with many facing the water for ship access. During the day, the doors would likely be open to allow crafts in and out as needed. The question was how to investigate these holding facilities? They were restricted access only accessible to dock workers, guards, and limited number of visitors making use of the storage. Trespassing was assumed theft and would come with steep consequences.

 

[Goran Glacial]

Clearly distraught adrian cussed moving back with his orb in hand using shadow punch to deflect the spear into the wall as he retreated further down the alley. Adrian wanted to play with lives not dance on the a edge of a blade with his own, spitting to the right adrian muttered angrily "I didn't even want to come to this racist fuck-hole in the first place!". Aiming for the eyes Adrian fired off another round of magic arrows focusing the two shots on the guard closest to himself.

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke frowned as he looked around. Seeing the slaves didn't bother him, it was simply how certain communities operated. He certainly wasn't a righteous enough person to bring himself to care. Perhaps that was just from his own experiences with his mother in his past life though. Instead, his frown was a thoughtful one as he looked for the ship.

If the ship was in a warehouse, there wasn't much of a way for them to find it right now. Think. How else can you narrow it down? He brought a hand up to his chin in thought. An idea struck him. "Excuse me, Captain. I'll be right back."

Loke moved to the side, stepping up to a merchant who was presently between customers. "Hello, do you know if this town has auctions for impounded ships? My Captain is looking to purchase. If so, is there someplace we can go look at the ships being sold?" He made a point to also look at the wares the merchant was selling. Perhaps he could get them to talk a bit if he purchased something from them as well.

 

[NeramoDJI]

Zeke for one didn't even bat an eye at the slaves. Back in his last life, people would be lucky to slaves, since at least then they were allowed to live and not die in an absolutely horrid way. But that was besides the point. For now, he had to think of his way to get in the section with the boats themselves. He listened to Izaak speak up, humming as he snapped in confirmation, still keeping up his act of meaning to limit how much he stood out. "A good suggestion. I suppose we'll continue on to try that once Loke is back." He said, humming to himself, finishing with a small snap.

He decided to take a second look over at the slaves, an eyebrow raised as he looked them all over. Slaves weren't quite his style, but he could definitely see himself using some if necessary. He preferred the comradery of a real crew, much less chance for your crew to cut and run than a slave. Still a big chance mind you, but it was not absolutely certain like it would be with a slave who was desperate for freedom. The pleasure slaves, not so much however, he couldn't really ever see himself needing use of something like that.

He then turned to the member of the crew they had brought with them, looking towards the man. "Well, if we can get in there, you're sure you can identify the ship right?" He asked in a bit more of a hushed tone, wanting to simply get the question out of the way before they went inside the docks, if they were able to get inside at all.

 

[Weazel]

Izaak tried to keep his face passive as their little group walked by the river. With every slave they passed, beastfolk or fae, he felt his commitment to this scheme grow ever stronger. Stealing one ship wouldn’t set the Empire back any, but any small inconvenience they could cause would be worth it. A country like this didn’t deserve to be obeyed, let alone respected. Even if it got him branded with a criminal title, that would just make him want to fight harder against injustice. None of this was right, and he might not be able to stop it himself, but if he could convince even one person to also stand and fight, then it would have all been worth it.

Loke, meanwhile, had seemed to take some inspiration from Izaak’s suggestion, disappearing off into the crowd while promising to return shortly. Zeke also seemed keen on the idea, though with Loke gone went to peruse the slaves on offer. Hopefully just to blend in, Izaak thought to himself, though if the pirate did intend to buy himself a slave, there wasn’t much Izaak could do about it right this very second. Helping to engineer a mysterious and miraculous escape later, maybe, but not here and certainly not now.

As for identifying the ship, Izaak certainly hoped that the crewman they’d brought along with them could identify it! They’d been working on it until just recently, after all. It would be pretty embarrassing if they’d worked all this out only for it to turn out that the man they’d brought along didn’t even know the ship they were looking for. Still, he could understand why Zeke wanted to make sure, at least. Better to cover all their bases, after all. For now, though, they were on a holding pattern until Loke returned.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: NeramoDJI @Pet Panda NebulaBlossom @GR00s Weazel @Weesnaw Goran Glacial
OOC: Adrian can't use E grade abilities in back to back rounds. Downgraded shadow fist ability so he wasn't helpless. We are moving to a 2 day posting cycle. Those that don't get posted by then or tell someone when they can post are skipped.
Time: 8:22am
Weather: light wind, Cool but not cold, cloudy sky

Schal​

Adrian was able to use his black magic to palm the spear and sweep it to the side at the last moment. However, he didn't have the magic to recast his dark bolts. That's when the guy caught off balance early was able to pick himself up. While the guard with the swiped attack pulled back his spear to thrust at Adrian again, The guard in the back would cover the ground and thrust at Adrian's center of mass with a spear point glowing visibly in the shadows of the alley. (special e attack)

Loke's efforts weren't without merit. The merchant was a chatty, plump man. Clearly an outsider merchant rather than a native. The merchant eyed Loke up and down and must have decided Loke was worth his time.

"There is a rather prestigious auction hall in the eastgate district's walled in ward. You know, I happened to attend the auctions regularly as a representative for discerning parties. It is quite adventageous to retain the services of one such as I. I can help get your desired goods and at a more affordable price than if you were to participate yourself in the auction,"

The Merchant suggested to Loke, his eyes and smile clearly looking at money rather than a person.

Meanwhile, Zeke and Izaak were reassured by the crewman of the CrestStrutter he had eyes and could pick out his own ship.

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke considered the merchant's words. It wasn't a direct answer but it was certainly a lead worth checking out if they could. "That's a very kind offer." He smiled at the merchant. "I'll inform the Captain of your offer and you'll most likely be hearing back from us in the next few days." He picked up one of the cheaper trinkets the merchant sold and paid for it in a gesture of good favor. With that, he returned to the group.

"Captain, the merchant told me of an auction house in the eastgate district's walled ward. He was even kind enough to offer his services should we wish to purchase a ship there." Loke shared the new info. He nodded to Izaak, "Perhaps a walk in that direction would be both good for the Captain's health and help us in our search for a ship. The auction house itself would likely be a feat of local architecture given the merchant's comment on how prestigious it is."

Hopefully this would speed up their search and prove his capabilities outside of healing to the Captain. Zeke had given no indication that Loke wouldn't have a place but he'd rather be sure about his position in the new crew.

 

[NeramoDJI]

"Good work Loke. That's more than nothing, and safer than trying to sneak in." He said, slightly hushed at the end of it, turning his attention away from the slaves. "We'll head to that auction and see if we can spot the ship." He said, glancing at the crewmember. "Of course, we gotta hope they don't move the ship between the auction and our... decision." He said, humming a little bit. "But now that we have that, lets get moving lads." He said with a snap to blend in, starting to walk towards which direction Loke pointed out for the auction.

"Just gotta be sure lad." He commented to the crewmate, looking towards the front of the group. "So, the only issue is how to.... How much do you think people would pay for a bottle of mana from heaven?" He asked, humming to himself as he thought of it. "And I don't mean a scam, I mean a provable jar of cloud from the universally known afterlife." He said, asking his crew the question. He knew the easiest way to get some, and he was probably the only one in this town that could, so it might fetch quite a high price. This way, he could skip the criminal title altogether and go under the laws radar for a tad bit longer.

 

[Novama]

Mentions: NeramoDJI @Pet Panda NebulaBlossom @GR00s Weazel @Weesnaw Goran Glacial
OOC: I wasn't kidding about the 2 day post cycle. Anyone not posting is now assumed to be off derping somewhere. Until they post again, forget about them.
Time: 5:22am
Weather: light wind, Cool but not cold, clear sky, sun getting low.

Schal​

With thoughts of a legal purchase in mind, the crew would scour the town for someone willing to appraise their bottle of unknown cloud stuff. It turned out harder than they thought. Only someone with an appraisal skill would be able to discern the contents of the bottle and only someone with a higher grade appraisal could discern the quality of what was in the bottle. The only person in town that could do it happened to be the head of the auction house: Mr. Tarma. Despite his intense stare and curiously shaped ears, he was human, or at least, he had enough money that it didn't much matter if he didn't. The group just happened to get an audience with him when he happened to spot the bottle as they were waving it around trying to get past the guards and into the auction house.

"This, gentlemen,...."

He spoke professionally, but the questionable quality of characters in the luxurious meeting room made him pause.

"...is as you claim. Truly, no purer supply of mana could be obtained from anywhere but a divine realm. Quite the rare thing indeed for those who lack means. You are unlikely to find such a thing outside places such as The Duchy and surely not of this purity. I insist the contents get moved to a more secure vessel, but otherwise, I could host this in tonight's auction if you wish. We are just a couple hours away from showtime, but I'm sure we could squeeze it in. Of course, the house will take a percentage of the earnings on the sale. Or perhaps you wish to avoid the hassle of the formalities and company and simply sell?"

The last bit, Mr. Tarma said while implying the crew were perhaps too ill suited to attend a high class auction and prefer the quick cash to a riskier but more lucrative venture. In the same way he could appraise the mana cloud, he could surely appraise them also. This was clearly a man familiar with dealing with all manner of individuals. One of the men from the Creststrutter was particularly nervous being in the room.

 

[NeramoDJI]

"I think we'll take the sale then." Zeke said with a hum, taking the hint. He didn't care to get shortcut, and spending time in an auction would just be a waste of time. It was best to just get his money and get the ship. "How much is your offer?" He said, not wanting to get shortchanged. He knew this folks type, and the honest businessman was always anything but honest. Of course, he did give them an honest appraisal, so it might be better to give him the benefit of the doubt. But not too much of a benefit. He still had a profit to make here. And he needed enough money to bail the ship out. So with that, he decided to let the auctioneer speak. He was planning on cross-referencing it with the cost of those rings he appraised. Based on the quality of the mana in the jar, and the fact that very few could appraise it, he knew it should probably be worlds above the cost of anything he himself could appraise.

That magic duchy this man mentioned may be interesting to visit at some point. He knew a thing or two about the mana he was working with to make his portals, but perhaps learning more may be in his best interest. This sort of thing seemed interesting enough to maybe deal with pillaging later. Magic artifacts were always something worth stealing and using. Of course, only if you understood what they could do. Using one of them willy nilly is a great way to turn your skin to ash. He'd know quite a bit about that particular feeling. Not a good one.

He wanted the exchange to hopefully be over soon, since his crewmate seemed uncomfortable. Usually, he wouldn't quite care of something like that, but he needed to make a good impression, and as his own captain now, he had to care about what his underlings thought, lest they attempt a mutiny. He wasn't as strong as his last life, so that was something to worry about as well.

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke was content to remain quiet as Zeke handled the business dealings. He had done his part in getting them this lead. Getting Zeke’s approval as the new Captain is what he aimed for and it’s what he landed. A job well done.

Loke listened carefully to the chatter about the bottle of mana Zeke held. It seemed a rare thing so he wondered how it came to be in Zeke’s possession. The Duchy sounded interesting though. Perhaps it would be worth learning more about another time.

During the negotiations, Loke looked around at the building. He took note that one of the crew looked rather uncomfortable, moving over to them and murmuring. “You good?”

 

[Novama]

Mentions: NeramoDJI @Pet Panda NebulaBlossom @GR00s Weazel @Weesnaw Goran Glacial
OOC: We are nearing the end of the rp. let me know if there was anything else you guys wanted to do.
Time: 5:42am
Weather: light wind, Cool but not cold, clear sky, sun getting low.

Schal​

"Splendid,"

Mr. Tarma said with a wry smile. His eyes looked more like they belonged to a predator feline than a man, perhaps a side effect of his appraisal skill. He snapped his fingers in the traditional Schal way in social agreements. A staffer of the auction house then opened the door and strolled in with a cart in tow. It had a reasonably sized sack of Imperial coinage resting on top. Some of the coins had spilled out on the glossy finish of the cart's surface. They shined in the light as some sort of golden alloy.

"Take your time counting it, gentlemen. I'm sure you will find the offer satisfactory. Help yourselves to the refreshments as well. Timothy will take care of you until your time of departure,"

Mr.Tarma stated, standing up and rebuttoning his suit jacket. Despite the money to eat well, he was like the average schal native: fit. He moved to leave the room after placing the bottle of mana back on the table. He would have Timothy bring that along after the party accepted their coins.

The crewman Loke spoke to whispered,

"...the men that killed our captain...the crest they wore was the same..."

He subtly pointed to the crests on the suit jackets both Mr. Tarma and Timothy wore. The crest was presumably the crest of the Auction House or its founding/sponsoring family. The idea of such a place having their own guards wouldn't be unusual. They met a few just getting in and walking around. The implication that the aution house was associated with the killing of their pricier docking fee, death of their captain, and the commandeering of their ship was a hefty one. Would mean the Auction house had more pull in the town than one might think or something else was going on.

However, the snack cakes and tea provided by Timothy were delicious. For some, this was their first time having a confectionary if they had any at all. Counting the coins would reveal quite a haul. Obviously, it would be as much as they would have gotten had they taken it to auction, but the fast cash saved them hours, if not days, on a pay day. If they took the money, they may be able to buy the CrestStrutter or another similar sized vessel from Schal Ship yards.

 

[NeramoDJI]

Zeke grinned, taking the deal and nodding. "This works for me. You have a deal Mr. Tarma." He said with a happy look, looking over the money. Internally, he knew he was likely being shortchanged, but considering how easily he could acquire more of this mana, he didn't really care. He could always get more. However, for the time being, he kept the money and traded the mana in. Those cakes were also rather good. Despite having lived a past life, this was his first time eating cakes, or even drinking tea. They were rather good too. He'd have to grab a few of these for later.

With the money in tow, he planned on purchasing back the creststrutter. This wasn't typically his style of doing things legally, but this damn human body forced him to remain docile for the time being. He wasn't strong enough to do things himself, so he needed a crew that could muscle things through for him. So, now he just needed a ship, and afterwards he could get back to his regularly scheduled pillaging. He'd also have to pick up Stella from that cave he told her to wait in.

"Well lads, lets go purchase a ship back." He told his crew the plan, putting his hands in his pockets. He had the means to get the ship back, so now he could just get out of there with it. At least, if things worked the way he hoped.

 

[NebulaBlossom]

Loke took in the information, "I see. Just keep your head down for now." He would bring that up with Zeke at another time. It certainly painted an interesting picture of how this town worked. He kept close to that crewman as the deal closed, making sure he didn't stand out too much. The money was brought out and the deal was closed cleanly.

When the cakes and tea were brought out, Loke wondered if he'd be able to make a similar cake. Admittedly, he knew that his cakes wouldn't be this good but perhaps he could try for similar flavors. The bakers who made these were likely formally trained with years of experience. As they left, he fell in step just behind Zeke but beside the crew member he had been talking with earlier. "What's the kitchen like on the CrestStrutter?" Perhaps he would be able to bake something if the kitchen had the right setup.