Scouting for potential. [Closed]

[Orys Durrandon]

The salty dog was a surprisingly fitting name for the tavern. It was always facing towards the sea, and when it raged the waves would splash out and against the dog sing in front of the tavern. Many also said that the "Mane of the dog" was strong here. Nobody exactly knew what it meant. Some say it meant that the sailors here were especially drunk, some say that the dogs here had their own unique breed that could not truly be replicated anywhere else. Some suggested that it was just a local calling name for the brews sold in the tavern.

To Orys, it was no matter. He pulled his cowl down as he walked across the stormy pier, ignoring the water that hit against his body. He had left Balerion back at one of the smaller islands he had landed on to. It had been abandoned, or so it seemed, for the island had buildings yet nobody had lived in them for quite some time. Mayhaps there had been a strike of disease in the area and the occupants had left... Or died. It did not matter, they would either be dead somewhere or alive somewhere. They wouldn't need their buildings. But he did.

He stopped himself in front of the tavern, staring at it for a moment before grunting and pushing himself trough the door. The stench of cheap ale, drunken men, and the faint stench of a woman was there. A typical tavern for the western isles, surely. As he looked around, he met with no-one's gaze. No one was interested in him, with most of the patrons focusing on simply drinking, or trying to gain the attention of the only woman in the tavern at the moment. He twisted his face into a frown before moving over to seat himself into a corner table.

[Auria]

Never has she received such attention from men, never has she particularly desired it either. She was the only woman in this tavern, a fact that came quickly apparent a few moments after entering. It was a fact that made her feel small and intimidated, as she felt the many eyes staring at her, boring into her. A few of the men came up to speak with her, but while she was never outwardly rude she was quite dismissive of them. She hadn't entered with the prospect of a romantic interlude, it never crossed her mind actually, but she was instead looking for work. She's always heard that the best place to go to find it was in a pub, ergo why she was here. Only it seemed no one cared for giving a frail girl like her a job. Well... at least an 'actual' job. She's heard several... propositions of other sorts of things lobbied at her. She would have simply left by now, but the fact was she was afraid to. At least in here there were countless eyes that could see if something went wrong. It filled her chest with a small tightness, as she held her dark tome in her arms almost like a security blanket.

She had lived in the Etrurian controlled western isles her whole life, and while she was definitely capable of taking care of herself, he first foray into the more seedy parts of the islands was not a memory she would cherish. Perhaps she simply had a higher opinion of her abilities then what was appropriate. In Fibernia, while it had it's ups and downs, she's never been eyed like a piece of meat for a crowd of rowdy pirates. A man entered the bar, who paid her no attention, he dripped with water as he moved through the bar. The soaked cowled coat he wore was a clear indicator that had been out in this storm. Her eyes followed him as he took a spot in the corner of the bar.

She didn't say anything, after all why would she? He was just another person who entered who didn't look to be anything special. Maybe a touch more heavily armed than the average patron... actually he was wearing some armor it appeared. Maybe he was a traveler? In which case, maybe it would benefit her to speak with him? At the least it might get some of the other men to stop flirting with her if they say her speak with this man who was clearly a fighter of some sort. Even if it didn't pan out, she could leave afterwards and worry a little less about being followed at the least.

"Excuse me." She spoke with a calm voice after having made her way near to him. "I do not wish to disturb you, but I was hoping if I could ask you a question." She grinned gently, putting on her best efforts to appear friendly and affable.

[Orys Durrandon]

By the time the woman had managed to reach the corner Orys had sat himself in, he had already managed to set up quite a few things without little time or effort. Particularly sticking out was a large map of the whole continent, with many arrows and circles drawn over it, along with some wooden figurines that one could describe as looking like soldiers. If they managed to, anyways, the figurines were very crudely made. It was as if he was planning something very big. Major red circles were everywhere, some near Illia, one large one at Nabata, some small ones at the isles, and a very, very small one stuck into Sacae.

Orys lifted his head up from whatever he was doing, staring at the woman for a while as he then grunted, nodding. "Mhrm. What is it? Sit down." After muttering those words he returned to work, moving the figures across the map. On a closer look, it seemed like the smaller figurines were actually peasants, or something similar to them as they were moved to the Nabata circle, along with some sent over to the small Sacae circle. There was also a rather large pegasi figurine stuck on the Illian circle.

It looked like a very, very weird board game right now. Orys furrowed his brows as he thought about this set up for a long while before drawing a question mark over Etruria. He would need to try and get someone from the inside to handle a few chores there.

[Auria]

It looked like he had a map of Elibe sitting in front of him, she's seen the map before in books, and she had a general understanding of each of the nations in it. She lived in the Western Isles, which was under Etruria's control. Then there was... No that's not right. She couldn't remember it as clearly as she'd like, it was egregious. She knew the names, Lycia, Bern, Ilia, Sacae.... that desert one.... but she wasn't sure where each one fell. Besides the desert one, which was clearing in the desert. Irregardless, he seemed to be moving what looked like carved wooden pieces around. They were a bit crudely made, and she assumed he made them himself as a result. He seemed to have them in somewhat random places with big red circles in certain places, it was confusing to her, but wasn't really her business so she didn't say anything. Maybe he was just playing a game? She's seen people play that one card game, Solidtare, maybe this was like that?

"Thank you sir." She nodded her head as she took a seat with a smile. "My name is Auria, a mercenary. You don't appear to be around here, so I was wondering if you've heard of any profitable opportunities?" She asked him, giving a glance to his map once more. It looked like... Hrm... Well she didn't know what it looked like, but maybe the pieces meant things? Like the little men were soldiers, they looked like them at least, like it was something for a war room. Like some kind of tactician was using them to signify troops. She thought it over a bit, trying to decipher it. She wasn't very knowledgeable about such things, but maybe she should be? That'd be a nice way to become famous, some kind of tactician. If she was clever enough, she could go down in history. At the least there'd be some very grateful kingdoms willing to pay her handsomely for her thoughts.

This was a rather seedy tavern, so it wasn't like she was searching for a king or a emperor or a prophet to just walk in for her to pledge allegiance to, but a little bit of money at all would be helpful. She needed to send it back home, and maybe buy a few new books. Maybe about tactics.

[Orys Durrandon]

"Mrhm, I am no sir. Simply call me Orys." He nodded quickly as he returned to moving his figures for a while, writing down something with a steady hand before placing the paper away, rolling up his map and taking the figurines as he then placed them all back into his bag, closing it tightly. "Profitable opportunities?" He eyed the girl up and down once, trying to decide if she could do for his project. She seemed to be the mage type, considering her robes. But... Young. He was no judge of age, considering one of his prime candidates for a strategist was probably even younger than her.

But she... No. She would be of use to him in some other way, hopefully. "Mrhgm. I don't live here, so I don't know of opportunities here. But I do have a potential job offer for you." He nodded, going to his belt as he then took out a small bag of gold, placing it onto the table. "I'd presume, at the very least thanks to your clothes that you are not native to the pirate part of this island. I'd also trust that you are still from here. SO. I want you to do something simple for me."

"Map out the area for me. Anything goes, a simple map with villages marked or even a very detailed one. Both can work. I'll also need someone to go and hire me some mercenary ships to move some very important cargo later on. All legal, of course."

[Loreley]

Loreley struggled a bit with the lines as the winds and waves buffeted her little ship. The Loreley's Promise was lashed and secured well in the docks, but when she'd heard the storm blowing in she'd headed up from her cabin to put a few more touches on Promise. Such as tying out more bumpers over the sides to make certain that she wouldn't grind up the sides of her boat on the docks. She looped a few more knots on the cleats on Promise before tossing them over the mooring bollards on the dock once more. Everything was all closed up and held fast as best as she could manage. Once she finished fastening the lines on the dock, she'd just have to wait out the storm so she could move on.

As she struggled up onto the dock again, she frowned a bit. The Salty Dog was a bit rougher than her tastes. Actually, the whole town was, but if you weren't going all the way from the East edge of the isles to Jutes, this was one of the most common stop offs. So here she was, tying more lines out to keep her ship secured and safe while her heavy cloak was getting thoroughly soaked. It'd been treated to be weather resistant, so it shed most of the water. The storm was still whipping pretty strong around the ocean though.

Finished and satisfied with her work, the sailor decided that a warm meal and a steady floor would be preferable to the rolling and jostling she'd get if she headed back down to Promise's cabin. And with a well stocked tavern nearby, she wouldn't have to. Keeping her oilskin cloak and its hood drawn tightly about her as she moved through the rainy winds, Lore headed for the door to the Salty Dog. The door nearly tore free of her icy hands once she pushed it open, but she turned about and managed to get on the inside of it, leaning heavily on the solid wood construction to get it closed against the howling elements. She stood by the door long enough to shed some of the water, then threw back her hood and marched up towards the bar like she owned it.

"Ah! Look who decided to come in an' join us! Knew you'd be back, Girlie. Sea treatin' you like an otter's clamshell?" It was a gruff voice from behind the counter. Someone she'd made a bit of an acquaintance with on her few stops through, and one of the few people she actually would think of trusting with more than a handful of stones. It was the Salty Dog's keeper.

"You could say that, Tanden. I thought that your floors could be a mite stabler than the bay's. You have anything good to eat?" Initially, all the men at the bar looked on in anticipation as they saw her walking up, but once they saw that she was on good terms with the Keeper, a couple of them moved over and made a spot for her to sit at the bar. She still felt just about every eye on her in the tavern though. This was why she stuck mostly to neater and nicer portions of the island. She had gotten some advice and gotten used to it over the months, but she still didn't trust her surroundings in places like these. You didn't want to let on about that though. Some men saw discomfort and thought of that as an invitation to try to manhandle her a little bit. Then some white knight would show up and try to rescue her, and that never ended well, because then she'd either have to thank him, or beat feet to get away from the pig that had started the whole thing. Right now, she just wanted to be left alone. She would make it known if she wanted some attention thrown her way, thankyou very much.

"Aw shoot. We're fresh out of good. Guess you get the grease stew, like everyone else." The man came up with a bowl of stew and slid it across the counter towards her. She picked it up and checked it to make sure it was, infact, still liquid and not solid.

"I'll take it, if its better than bilge water."

You'll have to tell me, Lore. I burnt away my taste years ago on the stuff.

She felt a small smile creep over her face at the man's comment. Tanden and she had come to an understanding. He'd had family back in Wake, so she wasn't a complete stranger to him. In return for the friendship and the assistance she'd rendered to his kin once upon a time, he looked after her as best he could when she dropped in at the Salty Dog. He left to go and make certain that nothing was melting or boiling over in the kitchen, and she turned her attention back to the rest of the tavern, scanning its inhabitants surreptitiously. There were a few notable looking figures, but the only two sharing a table were a smallish looking blue haired girl and a much larger man with black hair and heavy beard dominating the southern part of his face. He was wearing armor. As in, actual armor. Not the piecemeal that most corsairs and privateers gathered together. That was an impressive sight. Hopefully, he wouldn't end up falling in the drink with all that on. It'd be tricky business hauling him out in all of that.

[Auria]

"I can tell you're not from the area Orys, that's why I was asking if you knew of any good opportunities. Preferably from outside the isles, you look like a knowledgeable man. You have a map of Elibe at hand, and I assume these figurines imply you have a general understanding of the situation in these parts of the world." She explained her reasoning in a calm tone, lightly flattering him all the while. Don't want to lay it on too thick, or he might get the impression she was hitting on him, and truth was nothing could be further from the truth. He said he had a job opportunity for her though, assuming it wasn't anything too severe she would jump at it. She needed gold, badly. If only so she could buy another robe, this was the only one she had.

"A map of the area?" She repeated, thinking of his words. "You are correct, I am not from this area of the isles, but I am from the isles true and true." She said as she fiddled with a strap on her robes. It was around the waist, and was a pouch in which she kept some things. She had placed her dark tome of magic on the table as she searched the oversized pocket, the robe was much larger then her frame needed but at the least it made it easy to keep thing with her at all times. She had pouches and pockets, some to carry some useful items, one to carry her tome in, and this one she had...

She pulled out a rolled up piece of parchment. "I have a map of the area already." She had prepared herself before she left home. She had drafted this up based on another map she found, more or less tracing it entirely. Some may call it "stealing" but she didn't really have the money to buy a map like that, so she called it 'being smart'. "I could draft you up a copy if you wish."

[Orys Durrandon]

He listened to her speaking, noticing some traces of flatter in her speech. Simple words could not impress him, but this girl did impress him with the next action. Casually pulling out a map of the area and offering to trace it out for him. Good, good, very good indeed. "Ah, yes. Thank you." He for once offered a smile as he took a long, long swig from his ale. Tasted like dog piss watered down enough to maybe pass for some low quality ale. Barely, barely.

"Anyways, mrhm. I have a few more things I could use from you, then. As said before, just contacting some mercenaries for moving cargo. Although... You could also go around and ask for some able bodied men and women if they would wish to join up for a project at Nabata." He nodded, going to his bag as he pulled out a few maps, detailing the route to a rather large red circle near Nabata's coast. "Just distribute a few of these around. You're welcome to head for the spot too later on if you wish to join up in a larger endeavor. But let me warn you, it's a long project and leaving it will not be allowed."

He then turned his attention to the newcomer. She seemed to be in good graces with the inkeeper... Maybe she had a boat. Or maybe she knew someone who would have boats. He grunted to himself as he waved his hand. "Oi. You. woman, I need to ask you something."

[Loreley]

She took a bite, and tried to contain herself at the heavy salt taste of the chowder. Definitely had something in it, although she wasn't sure if she wanted to guess what the soup had been started with at this point. Clams, but just how long had this pot been over the fire? She could ask Tanden, but the surly old mutt would probably just laugh at her and ask if she wanted some more.

Between the howling outside and all the ruckus inside, it was difficult to be able to hear anything clearly, but over all the noise she could still here a voice call out towards what could only be her in the tavern. She didn't answer immediately, taking the moment to prep herself. If this was trouble, she wanted to be ready to run, because she knew she didn't want a fight. If this wasn't trouble, then she'd be pleasantly surprised. "You woman" wasn't the language of polite company, so she didn't have her hopes up to high. The Western Isles weren't known for their sterling social skills though.

It was only a few seconds of pausing as she prepped herself. Then she turned in her seat to look and see who actually had spoken to her. It was the armored man at the table she'd spotted. The outlander.... Well, she'd been wondering a little about him. Maybe she'd get a few of those burning questions answered out of this. It was a gamble she'd take.

She looked a moment more before grabbing up her bowl of stew and heading over towards the pair at the table. Nothing ventured; nothing gained.

"It's a long journey to the Isles, Outlander. What do ya need?" Loreley let her eyes slide over the activities at the table, and noted the pouch on the table, and the maps being worked with. He needed a map made, apparently. Lots of people needed maps though. There really wasn't anything she could gain from that information. She moved on, studying the girl. Up close, she still looked a little frail, and probably low on coin from what the sailor could tell. The book didn't escape notice either, but she had no idea what sort of writing was on it. Something really old, or really magical, no doubt. It could be hard for anyone without training in something tangible like sailing, or sowing, or carpentry to make a living on the Isles. Especially a girl. The Big Man didn't look like he'd have a hard time though. He looked built for war, and if he wasn't working for one of the warlords around the island, he would find no problem hiring himself out to towns and villages that could afford his protective services.

Just as well I left my bow in the boat. Definitely running from this sort of trouble. There was a good deal of caution and care in her movements, but she was trying to keep from coming off as a complete wimp. A reputation like that around here could land you in the drink nice and quick.

[Auria]

"You want me to hire men to do a task for you?" She asked, skeptical, looking around at the... burly men. She didn't have experience in such a thing but... Money was money. She wasn't sure about joining his 'long campaign' with anything to go on but him just saying that it'll be in nabata and that 'leaving is not permitted' which was a rather vague and somewhat threatening thing to say. Was there fame and fortune to be found in this endeavor? Perhaps. Was it one that interested her however? Not at this point. However that was not the thing she was tasked to do, no instead she needed to 'recruit' for it. So she took the maps and took her tome, looking at the girl who sat while she stood. Her face completely straight, but with a small hint of a frown on it. She was hesitant, as she's never done such a thing, but how hard could it be?

"Excuse me." She told to the woman as she walked by, looking around the bar. She found a group of men laughing loudly and looking rowdy in the corner, as she squinted and took a deep breath. Alright. Alright. You can do this. She remained calm and poised, but inside she was fretting like a schoolgirl. She acted in complete control of the situation, built herself up with confidence, but really she had no idea what she was doing. Well you know what they say, fake it until you make it. She put on a cocky grin as she strode over.

"Excuse me good sirs." She said in a proper polite way, curtsying her little tattered robe to the men. Who, in turn, just exploded in laughter.

"Sah!? Ya hear that Gen? Ahm a sah now!" One of them sputtered in laughter.
"Ah little girl, ya lost?" Another said in a condescending tone in between his laughter.
A third simply shook his head with a chuckle, intent to be uninvolved while drinking some frothy liquids.
The fourth leered at her with a hungry look in his eyes and a disturbing grin on his face. Ugh.

She put the map she was given down up the table. "I am here to tell you of a job opportunity in Nabata, one that is surely to pay well with gold and fame. He requires strong and able hands, and I felt you all exemplified such traits." She said, undeterred by their hooting and hollering. She was scared at first, but now she was just irritated. "If you're interested, speak to the man in the black armor and red cape." She said turning away, hearing them laugh and gossip behind her. Regardless, even if only one of them even thought about it, it would have been a worthwhile endeavor.

She continued, going to other folks in the bar, lightly flattering the men and giving them nice smiles, telling them of the job. Most weren't interested really, more seemed more interested in her then the job. Some tried to ask her questions, but she really didn't have information to give, so she redirected them to Orys. Her fear was assuaged for the moment, though she was still hesitant to leave the bar alone. She's had a few men try to grope her, but instead of freaking out, she withstood the assaults with a slimy gross feeling in her heart. Worst of all, she even pretended to be flattered by them even if it caused her to physically recoil in disgust, people who were happy were more willing to listen after all. Still the whole thing made her feel dirty. But... after all... money was money.

[Orys Durrandon]

"I'll just need a few simple things." He laughed, chugging some more of his ale and wiping his mouth before speaking. "Boats. Lots of them, preferably. Can be with or without a crew. Main point is I need them at Nabata and soon to move some very important cargo. I could also use someone to sail to Illia and offer up a very large sum to one of the local large mercenary companies. The gold will be supplied to them once they arrive." He sipped his ale once more, nodding to the woman to emphasize his words.

Getting the money to supply this large mercenary company would be the main trouble. But he already had a few plans on how to get them to side with him. He had flown around, and found that in the mountainous area between Nabata and Bern there was a large gold mine used to supply the Lycian leagues. It was a sad thing to drop down to the levels of mere bandits, but he needed the gold mine. He needed it and all the money it could muster out to him, yes. And he was going to conquer something, why not already set up a smaller one.

"If you can do that, I could also offer you a rather well paying job to sail over to Sacae and try to contact one of their tribes. Preferably one of the tribes that are not afraid of sailing and the ones that are more foot oriented."

[William]

William was sitting in the salty dog feeling as uncomfortable as this girl he was watching looked. When she talked to some men near him he listened in and heard about the job.

'Sounds like they're gonna be off the isles. This sounds like my best chance to get out of here.'

Having decided his course he approaches the rather cute young woman.

"Well hello, what's this I hear about a job?"he rather nervously asks the girl.

[Captain Morgan]

From outside of the tavern came the sound of a large crowd. This noise was fairly familiar to port-goers, for it meant that a large group of sailors had just come into port and were heading straight to the tavern for a drink. As if on cue, several of the sailors already inside moved around where they were sitting, leaving one corner of the building empty.

The sailors rushed inside, chattering and laughing with each other, claiming the corner of the tavern in their name, ordering drinks for all of themselves and exclaiming about a recent capture of treasure they made. Their captain entered in after them, a fairly tall man with a long, blonde ponytail and a large blonde-brown beard on his chin. "Keeper! A full round for everyone in the house on me!" He exclaimed, to the great cheer of both his crew and whatever already-drunken sailors could comprehend his words. He went up to the barkeep and gave him a large sum of money for the round of drinks before sitting in the middle of his crew, congratulating them on the haul.

Morgan was, of course, this man. This had become her crew's standard celebration for whenever they made off with a large amount of booty from rival pirates. She scratched at the fake chin on her beard. It was itchy, but it did the job. Rather than drink her rum, she watched the rest of the tavern carefully to judge their reactions. Other pirates would know that her crew were pirates and might leave the tavern to set an ambush when her crew was good and drunk. She would not allow that to happen any day while she was captain.

[Loreley]

Who was this man? From the looks of things, he'd just called her over on the assumption that she had a boat she could sail. Or was part of a crew that could sail. It was true enough. She did have a boat, and she was quite proud of it, but Ilia was a long way through icy waters. Fewer dangers than traveling south though.... Of course, all that was changing with the surge of piracy going on. Even in the Etrurian waters, one couldn't be certain of safety and security anymore. You had to keep your wits about you when you traveled the seas in recent times. More so than usual.

His nature wasn't aggressive, at least. Not at the moment... She ammended herself. It put her a little more at ease and helped her relax a bit.

"So... You just waltz in here, and start throwing around word of a project in Nabata, and massive amounts of gold. You start searching for messengers to send for an army.... And you want some of the sacaen savages to join you? I think you'll have better luck attracting people with that than job offers." She took a few bites of the chowder, trying to make it look passable.

"People around the isles love gold: this is for certain. There's something else that many of us love as much or more than gold though, Outlander. Whether it's the freedom to set your sails to the wind and go to or do whatever you will, or the respect that comes of knowing that you and you alone are responsible for your well fare in these foamy swells depends on the one you're speaking to." She paused, lifting the bowl to her lips and drinking from it before wiping away the remnants of the stew on a bandanna she unwrapped from around her arm.

"You'll catch more of the right kind of flies if you offer an opportunity to earn gold instead of simply buying services. At least, if you want them to stick with you for your project in Nabata. But, listen to me acting all like I'm the expert on Isles culture. Hah...." Maybe she knew her little community, but Fibernia was a large island, and there were alot of different sorts of people on it.


About then was when a cluster of rowdy seamen came into the tavern, cold stormy sea winds following in closely behind them. They didn't seem perturbed though. They were clearly excited about something and celebrating. She heard words about treasure bandied about among their chatter and wondered what sort of treasure it could be, but it was a better idea to keep clear of these sorts of gatherings unless you were ready for trouble. She avoided that when she could.

"Here's one of those free spirited groups I was talking about. But that aside, what's your name, Outlander? A trip to Ilia is a long and cold voyage for a nameless land. And, are you certain that a company of mercenaries would even come for promise of payment?" She was interested in the job. Things like these always represented the ability to go where she willed, or do what she wanted. She could go and see the rest of the world, but jobs like this were also breaks from her life here in the Isles. She loved her family. She loved the waters here. She loved Wake.... Every time she went to leave, something always seemed to stop her. To draw her back. She kept coming back to her home. Even with it abandoned and empty.

[Auria]

It appeared a man had been enticed by her words and desired some information over the opportunity. This was good, her salesmanship was better than she anticipated, that would be a useful skill in the future no doubt. Even if she herself could not do the act, she could get other to do it for her. "Good day sir." She said with a gentle smile, she was kind and courteous and ever so polite. She gave a small bow of the head to him. Still this man seemed to have a semblance of manners, that was a refreshing change, even if said manners weren't laughing in her face or trying to grope her. It was amazing what passed for manners here in the western isles.

"You heard correctly, I'm recruiting for a job opportunity in Nabata. Sure to be a great experience, and one filled with fame and fortune." Fame and fortune. The two words any ambitious man loves to hear. Those who lay awake at night, yearning to be more than they are. Those that dream of a chance to rise above, to prove to prove to everyone they are not the pathetic gutter trash society views them as. She knew this, she knew it very well. She retrieve one of the maps from her person, handing it to him with a smile. "This map shows some of the details, and the man in the red cape is the one in charge of the expedition. I would ask him for the specific details."

A man barged into the room on that note, tall and fair of skin but with a large beard on his face. He seemed quite happy, laughing and hooting, and telling that he would buy a round of drinks for everyone in the bar. Though he himself didn't drink like that of his crew. Someone offered her a drink, but she shook her head and turned it down. She would never drink if she could help it. There were so many people who thought she'd be nothing but a drunk in the streets, she never even wanted to give them the semblance of a chance of being right. What if she became reliant on it? She'd prefer never to start than to risk the chance of not stopping. Also she was only seventeen.

However this man interested her. Money? He seemed to have some sort of power with these men as well. Perfect target. So she took steps towards him, a calm demeanor about her as her heart raced within her chest. She didn't grow too close, to avoid being seen as a threat of any sort. Instead she bowed her head. "Excuse me sir, would you mind if I speak with you? I have something I wish to discuss."