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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Oct 4, 2023 18:08:49 GMT -5
Lunch had just passed for Valor Company, floating above the Port City of Kaladesh in Telemon's Castle. The party had parted ways to tend divide and conquer with their goals and information seeking.
Taliesin had brought up the possibility of corralling a ship and possibly a crew as well and Sae rose to the occasion. Together they flew to the seaside and found their way to where the Captains and crew were sheltered.
Taliesin had refrained from speaking on the small walk while Sae got them where they needed. Upon entering the building he spoke up. "You leading the conversation as normal? Or do you want me to take point?" He asked as if he didn't already expect that he knew the answer.
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Post by Ancelas on Oct 5, 2023 10:33:24 GMT -5
The shipyard of Kaladesh was the second most well-developed area of a town that still only had dirt roads for streets. The docks were expansive, with several ocean-faring ships still in the process of construction, and a number of airships had been, or were in the process of, being brought in for repairs. Those with functional aether drives floated against elevated wharves, while those with minimal hull damage were floating at anchor amongst their more traditional cousins.
There were no walls around the shipyards, as they were the primary focus of the forces of Ruin operating in Smuggler's Vale. Labor crews had been composed of captured Mobians overseen by Ghurrish craftsmen, civilian Shadar Kai and Duergar who had suddenly found their fortunes reversed with the port's captured. Now they worked the ships themselves, alongside liberated Mobians who saw the ships as a means to escape the Vale, all under the watchful eyes of Mareki guards.
An entirely new pecking order had developed in the past few days. Perched at the top of this order was the Captain's Council, a group of airship captains who had rallied together and organized their former crews, and the crews of airships no longer in service, into a kind of committee overseeing the repairs within the shipyards. Resources and manpower had been reorganized to focus on the airships (to no one's surprise), as they were the most valuable assets in Kaladesh, both in the eyes of the council and of the Mareki occupiers.
All of this information had been provided to Valor Company when Sae and Taliesin had asked after the situation, as well as the latest status on the ships that had been damaged when the Mareki seized the port.
Ahead of the two elves, outside a squat wooden building, a handful of figures had gathered and were looking over reports and pointing at the ships currently in drydock. Three were members of the Captain's Council - a powerfully-built, green female dragonborn by the name of Ashara Sidora, a stout dwarf with a thick black beard and an eye patch named Arven Laand, and a pipe-smoking dark-haired halfling by the name of Camba Diaz. They were joined by a willowy tabaxi woman with fur in shades of brown, arms folded across her chest - Bosun Sonya Toloma, chosen representative of the many men and women who had once served as crew on the airships.
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Post by redcoat on Oct 7, 2023 14:54:51 GMT -5
Sae looked at Taliesin, arching an eyebrow and giving him a smirk. He already knew the answer to that question. Moving forward, she'd approach the two elves who appeared to be guarding the building that had the Captain's council. She'd turned out for the occasion- wearing her badge, with Rebuttal strapped to her hip.
"Good Morning- I was hoping to speak to the Captain's Council, if possible."
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Oct 7, 2023 15:07:25 GMT -5
Taliesin said nothing more, simply lifting his eyebrows towards the guards as they got closer. He was covered in the long and warm coat that was purchased for the Vale. The arms were rolled and snapped up. This was paired with the Marini style hood. This aided in hiding the Allurani inspired road clothes.
He made sure to stand to the side and back of Sae. His hands remained in clear view and he presented as any Mareki soldier would coming upon a set of guards to take shift, etc.
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Post by Ancelas on Oct 7, 2023 20:56:06 GMT -5
The attention of the two guards had been drawn to Sae and Taliesin as they approached. A quick word had been exchanged quietly before they walked up, and one of the guards nodded to Sae.
"Good morning, Gunslinger," he said, before motioning over to where the collection of Mobians stood around an outdoor table with their papers. "The captains are about their business today, but there are some going over the schematics the invaders were working off of."
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Post by redcoat on Oct 8, 2023 8:52:53 GMT -5
Sae gave a nod to the guard who was speaking. "Thank you." Before heading inside, towards the table of three and their schematics.
"Anything I might be able to help with?"
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Oct 8, 2023 10:03:55 GMT -5
Taliesin gave a nod to the soldiers as well before following closely in Sae's wake. He kept an overall open and approachable posture as Sae spoke to the Captains.
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Post by Ancelas on Oct 8, 2023 18:41:43 GMT -5
"I told you," the dragonborn woman said without looking up, "the ships'll be ready when they're ready! This notation system is in an entirely different language and it's taking time to convert it into common, so be. Patient."
The tabaxi woman looked over at Sae and Taliesin, and with a completely straight face, coughed quietly into one fist. The halfling looked up and lowered his pipe. "Good morning, Gunslinger," he said with extra emphasis, which was enough to shift the dragonborn's scowl from the sheaf of parchment to the visitors.
The one-eyed dwarf looked over as well, a pair of long scars crossing over his brow and cheek where he wore his eyepiece. "Gunslinger," he rasped, his voice gravelly and low. "Only one gunslinger I've heard about in this wretched port. The one that brought that goblin ship in, Aye? And the dragon, and the giant, and the floating castle?"
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Post by redcoat on Oct 8, 2023 19:14:40 GMT -5
"And the Mareki, if we're splitting hairs and counting tallies." Sae said with a bit of a mischievous grin. "Not that they'll admit it was any but their own idea. Mareki tend to be glory hogs. Gods know- I was one of them." She moved over to them.
"Want me to take a crack at the paperwork? I speak drow. I could also get a goblin engineer down here for you to help with the conversions. They are crazy fuckers, but surprisingly helpful."
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Post by Ancelas on Oct 9, 2023 8:22:55 GMT -5
"What do you know about ships?" Ashara the dragonborn said skeptically, watching Sae with a slight squint to her eyes. Camba Diaz, the halfling, put his pipe back into his mouth and slid one of the schematics across the table to Sae. Arven the dwarf scowled at the mention of the goblins.
"I've seen how those little monsters work," he grumbled. "Cutting corners and slapping on patches, when a little patience and elbow grease is all that's needed... Not letting any one of 'em near my ship, no thank you.
Bosun Toloma, the tabaxi, kept quiet and offered Taliesin a respectful nod, as though intuiting he filled a similar role to Sae as she did to the Council.
The schematics they were reviewing seemed to relate to a number of ships that were currently in the process of being built in drydock. There was drow shorthand notations, which Sae was able to pick up fairly quickly - specific measurements, albeit utilizing a system of measurement that was not Mobian standard - but it was the duergar notes that were more difficult to parse. The sharp, angular runes bore a resemblance to dwarven script, but somehow seemed more... jagged. Angrier? The notations were relegated to the bottom corner, providing some sort of description or commentary on the schematics.
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Oct 9, 2023 9:42:18 GMT -5
Taliesin grinned ear to ear as the Dragonborn stepped in it. He easily read it as expecting it to be normal Mareki pushing for results, but it was nice to see someone have to take a moment after. He clocked the Bosun's nod and responded in kind before opening his mouth.
"We're both children of the docks, after a fashion." He offered rather simply to Camba, but in his Allurani brogue that was getting easier to work with. "Sae has an eye for process and efficient allocation of resources." He said motioning to Sae with his head. "I have an eye towards repairs and operation. And that isn't accounting for what the rest of our company can do."
He looked to Arven. "And that is certainly your choice. Taking your time for exquisite artisan results to honor your ship does take time. It just means dealing with Mareki harping longer." He looked towards Camba and then back to Sae.
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Post by redcoat on Oct 9, 2023 17:01:45 GMT -5
Sae inclined her head in a nod. "I admit, ship building is not my specialty. But I can tell you what the drow shorthand means." She said, lightly pointing out the Drow she could read. "And I wouldn't trust a goblin near my gear- but they could probably translate these mils and stricks into Imperial Units." She shrugged, stepping back from the page.
"And Taliesin, doesn't Jaeger have that belt we took off the dead dueregar in the Underdark that let's him read their language?" She didn't dare compare the script to Dwarven- she'd dealt with enough Dwarves to know better.
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Post by Ancelas on Oct 9, 2023 18:06:47 GMT -5
Arven snorted. "This ain't the time or place for artisan work. We just need to finish what these people started - our contribution to the war effort." He stroked his thick beard. "After we get those airships air-worthy again, of course."
Ashara grunted, thin plumes of acrid smoke rising from her nostrils as she leaned forward to look at what Sae was pointing at. Diaz leaned forward as well, puffing on his point. "They're written in different units?" he mused. "So the shipmasters weren't reading off of the charts, they were doing the conversions for us... Good way of keeping your plans out of enemy hands, I s'pose. Thank you kindly, Gunslinger - since you can read the notations, reckon you might be able to put a key together? Be useful if we had something to make sure those goblins tell us true."
The tabaxi flicked her tail, tilting her eyes up briefly and exhaling slowly at the surprise of the captains.
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Post by §~Samwise~§ on Oct 9, 2023 18:16:45 GMT -5
Taliesin nodded to Sae. "Yes. He does. Wouldn't take him much time to translate this into common at all."
He smirked and refrained from speaking back at Ashara in regards to their comment. There was no point in over-sharing with someone in their current position. He looked over to Bosun and gave her an appraising look to sense out her role in comparison to the others. (Rolled Insight 11+3=14)
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Post by redcoat on Oct 9, 2023 18:33:41 GMT -5
"I can put something together." She said, looking over the marks. "I've got some contacts with the goblins. Assuming I can find one that understands the concept of measurements, I can work out a conversion chart for you." Sae said with a nod, looking to the Captains and Bosun.
"So... I'm sure you're not surprised that we came here about chartering a ship."
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