The Return of Arcanum (IC)

[Denraven]

Orin let out a long sigh.

“I don’t mean to disagree here, but the Viridian Glade isn’t exactly safe. Before the talk of Elves returning, that place has always been a hive for bandits. Its size allowing it to have proximity to many trade routes, a dense canopy to avoid airship support plus its almost unnatural penchant to have fierce cross-winds will make for a difficult first venture in an untested airship.” Orin said in a cool, even tone. “I remember the king mentioning ruins, I would start there. I’m sure it will no be no cake walk, but it beats contending with bandits, and Elves, who may or may not be entirely hostile.” Orin said, unrolling a small pocket sized map and laying it on the table, pointing to one of locations marked as ruins.

“That’s just my suggestion, of course Mr. Figgins here might be able to shed more light and experience to help us make our decision. I’ve just put my two coppers into the argument.” Orin finished and then found a spot along the wall in which to gently lean against as he let the others speak and put in their opinions.

[Enigma]

"Even the elves must consume water," Nick stated with conviction. "If we find the rivers, we should be able to spot some sign of their villages or cities from the air, even it is just the smoke from their cooking fires."

He gave their self-appointed captain a glance. While he had misgivings, the man claimed to know how to fly this airship and what's more, where to get more crew members.

The Tabaxi's words made him smile.

"We need a compass," he decided. "One that can point the way to where the magic is."

"Now, I was not expecting to leave immediately. What I would intend is to return home to collect my things, it shouldn't take more than a few hours. By that time, the... captain," he paused to glance at Orin, "He can make arrangements for his companions to join us. I'm certain we all have things we would find useful in what will be a very long trip."

"Are we agreed on this?"

[Lu321]

"Since the magic had been released, wouldn't it be everywhere? If that is true, a compass would be of no help" Kristen asked, looking up to the ceiling in deep thought. "Now there are much better suited people here to choose a course, but my initial thought would be to study the elves before going on a wild goose chase. If we find out how and where they lived, their culture, wouldn't that lead us to patterns in their daily lives that they might not even realize they have, like preferences for climate and food?"

Peeling her gaze away from the ceiling, she surveyed the crew. "As I said, there are people here with more experience tracking things. But I do agree with allowing us to return home before starting our adventure." She finished with a glance towards Mr. Figgens before she waited for another to speak.

She had a feeling that a decision would not be made quickly at the pace they were going, nor would it be effective. She hoped that in the future one of them would prove to be a reliable leader, but for now, they were all equals. Unless someone unexpectedly turned into a dictator, she doubted that would change.

[Yggdrasil_Hugger]

"Well, even though the magic has imbued the Prime Material Realm in its entirety, these artifacts would surely have a greater pull. But even so, where would find such a compass? I'm not sure that enchanters have even started appearing again, it is my understanding that such an act would require a higher amount of arcanic power than currently is available." Alek pondered.

"I can however, give more context on the elven societies. Or at least, the ones that existed seven-hundred and fifty odd years ago. Although, given the average elf's lifespan, I wouldn't be surprised if we found an elf that has lived the entire magic-less span of time." He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.

"The elves were one of the first, primordial races. They said they were the first, but of course, that varies between the races. Nonetheless, they are one of the eldest inhabitants of Eccrion. Very quickly, they were revered for their natural beauty, skilled mages, daring artists and craftsmen, and brave adventurers. They had a very fundamental understanding of magic, and some say that they learned from the Ancients themselves. Their civilization was built upon this natural, flowing weaving of magic. They were a very free and proud people. They would build cities wherever they could see the sky and particularly, the moons and sun. They built their land, their capital city, within the Viridian Glade. Myn Asari, or in elvish, The City of the Singers to the Moons. The city's spires reached into the sky far before there were airships to dock on them. However, the city is lost to history. All cartographers have found nothing where Myn Asari should have been. Not even ruins, as though it was simply never there." He gave a smile as his lecture really began.

"But Myn Asari was not the only city. Tu'llyn, Fara'a, Llew'yll, and countless others made their borders within the Viridian Glade. Their locations are less precise, but are not as catastrophically lost as Myn Asari's. There was one city, nearest the border and on the banks of a river that we could make course for: Avon'yll, or The City That Lies Upon the Banks of the River of Stars. It is about three days travel into the Viridian Glade. The river flows through many other towns follow that river." He gave a slight bow as he completed his lecture. "Of course, we may wish to travel to the ruins of the Ancients' cities. That would be easier, and less fraught with peril."

He looked around the room to gauge their reactions. He didn't want to push away his new companions with book drivel, but he was quite knowledgeable on historical sites.

[Enigma]

Orin turned to Nick, a sheepish grin on his face.
“Welllll about that. . .” Orin trailed off, thinking about how honest he wanted to be here, in for a penny, in for a pound I guess “I’m going to need someone to handle that for me, in fact, I can’t exactly leave the ship. . .or show my face on these docks.” Orin admitted, letting out a strained chuckle.


In the back, the intelligence-gatherer focused her attention on their new 'captain'. There had to be other able pilots, why did the king select him?


"Well, this complicates matters a bit," Nick grumbled, rubbing his chin. "How can we hire a crew if our captain can't show his face?"

"Well, there's a few options, we can go the completely dishonest route, and just Shanghai some people I have in mind. Or the slightly less dishonest way of asking and/or bribing them, all without mentioning my name." Orin plotted "The key thing is not mentioning my name, as I can think of only one, maybe two people who would honestly come to work with my again. . .piracy tends to do that" Orin said the last part at a bare whisper.


"Shanghai?" Nick frowned. He wasn't familiar with the term, himself, but he could think of some of the recruitment tactics the Navy tended to favor. "This is an airship, I rather have people we can trust and want to be here. And we do need men who can spell you at the wheel, or we're going to have to stop each night for you to rest, which will slow us down considerably."


Nick sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he brushed it back. "If there's just two you trust and they are willing to work with you, then that's who we'll try to get."


"Well, there is Blis-Blis, the Kobold, she'll be difficult to track down as she's nearly identical to every other Kobold on these docks. She is somewhat unique in her preference of silver-coins, most Kobolds only care for gold, so that may help." Orin replied.


"And than there is Heather, a halfling with skin the color of rich Bronze. As long as you don't mention my name, she'll probably jump at the chance to go on an adventure such as this, and once she agrees she's too stubborn to back down."


"There is a third" Orin said, his expression growing fearful, like a dog with its tail between its legs.


"Olivia" he spoke the words, as if each syllable pained him. "We absolutely need her, but I'd rather sell myself body and soul to some foul daemon than deal with that woman.I mean she'll be fine around the rest of you. . ." Orin finished and looked visibly pained for having even spoken.


In the back, Alfreda's right eyebrow arched. He had relationship problems with women, of course. And from the sound of it, species was not an issue.


"I see," Nick sighed again, shaking his head. "Here I was expecting some burly types who could help us move obstacles from our paths and help secure the airship when we need to land. Perhaps we can do some recruiting elsewhere, assuming you're not so notorious in other cities."


"I've got a few contacts in the north. But we need both Heather and Olivia. Heather is the best meteorologist around, and Olivia as much as I loath to have her on-board is a navigator without equal. Without those two, we'll wind up lost in the middle of a maelstorm. I just hope my groin will hold out against the assault of their feet. . ." Orin said the last part under breath.


"I'm sorry, I didn't get that last part? Nick frowned.


He turned to his diminutive butler and said, "I'm afraid you'll have to do the packing and make arrangements with the staff. Will that be a problem?"
"No sir," the Gnome replied. "There are porters, I'll just need to know which cabin you'll be sharing."


"Excellent! Now," Nick said, turning back to Orin, "Where might we find these women?"

"Olivia is easy just follow the smell of fire and brimestone" Orin said, his voice dripping with sarcasm "You'll also hear her before you see her, if you hear someone having the soul sucked out of them by an unrelenting string of insults in languages you've never heard, that will be her."


"Heather is also pretty easy to track down, if she's not in her office, follow the hair on your head and arms. Due to a rather unfortunate series of electrical storms, she's like a walking miniature Tesla coil. Yet no ships she's been on has ever been struck by lightning."


"Finally there's Blis-Blis, she'll be a little difficult, as there's about 200 Kobolds running around these docks, but. . ." Orin said pausing the reach into his coin sack, pulling out a large silver coin, closer in size to a medallion than a unit of currency.
"If you show this around, it will attract the attention of only about three, maybe four. Mention my name to those you attract, only two should react, Blis-Blis, and Yan-Yan. Do not recruit Yan-Yan we do not want that gremlin on our ship. If you manage to get a look at their inner thigh, Blis-Blis has a dull blue scale there, only way to tell those two apart." Orin finished with a sigh.


Nick's smile became a bit fixed as his eyes glazed over. He shook his head to clear it, then gave Orin a hard look.

"I'll guess that Heather is in the Weather Office. Is there a favorite bar or location I might find the other two? It might be easier than listening to someone swearing on a dock full of airmen and flashing my silver to every pickpocket."


"If you can find Heather's Office, Olivia's is just around the corner, you can try waiting for her there. Blis-Blis is almost constantly on the move, but if you want to try waiting for her in any particular spot, try the fuel depo, you might just catch her huffing the gas if you're lucky." Orin explained.


"As a very last resort you can try to talk to Hornwald the Head Mechanic, he'll know where to find everyone. But since you're a fresh face on these docks and I doubt you want to pay off my debts, getting to talk with that old sourpuss would take some luck."


"Noted," Nick frowned. It was a start, and he might have a way to sweeten the Head Mechanic a bit. "I imagine all three will want to be paid for their labors. I don't suppose you know where we can find the disbursing office so we can make those arrangements?"
"I would not, but Heather will come just at the mention of adventure, Olivia can be bribed with a fine bottle of wine, and Blis-Blis will take this as payment" Orin said, flashing the large silver coin again.
"Well then, if one of the ladies would accompany me to help with introductions, I'll get started."
As the conversation finish Orin turned back to the rest of the group.

[Moonlit_Fae]

Night listened to everyone as she finished her meal. She then went about with her cat like grace to put away the food and milk. She easily side stepped around others and her movements were naturally silent. She had also endured many years of harsh training to not make a sound. If she did, it resulted in lashings from wip. That was why she always dressed in tight clothes that never revealed much of her figure. She had old scars that told many stories. Her clothes were also light weight and plain, to prevent scrathing or rubbing against surfaces.

Night then propped herself up onto one of the counters and pulled her legs into herself, her tail was gently swaying back and forth behind her as she took in hew crew mates words. All of them had great points of views on what the next steps should be. Each were intellgient in their own ways from their past experiences. All of the input was based on that individual's skill set. Maybe there was hope yet, they all could somehow cohesively come up with a good plan to pull of this impossible task of rescuing magical items for their daft old king.

She let out a soft sigh that mimiced a purr. "I vote for the ruins of the Ancients' cities. There we can gather intel and keep a low profile. We do not want to draw attention to oursevles until we are ready to strike and take the magical items. We do not know what we wil encounter. I will gladly scout on ahead to naviagte any area we come across and report back. My clan also has an extensive network of spies I can make contact with if need be for supplies, carry messages, or if we need back up."

That was all the input Night would give on this decision. If the group decided to go in a different direction, that was fine with her. She would follow either way until she felt like it was no longer safe for her. None of them had gained her loyalty yet. She was always ready to back out to save her own skin just in case. Right now the biggest thing keeping her here was her own curiosity of magic and the high payment for this job.

[Enigma]

"Well," Nick said, turning towards the ladies of the group. "I wonder if one of you would mind accompanying me to find these ladies we're to hire? They may feel more willing to listen if another lady is present."

"Well, might as well. I probably need to find some tools too." Kristen said, standing up straight yet again. "If you don't mind, I'll take you up on that offer." She waited for Nick to respond, casually popping her knuckles.


"Excellent!" Nick beamed "Let's see about finding ourselves a crew!"




As they stepped off the inclined ramp of stairs that linked the airship to the docking platform, Nick asked Kristen, "What a strange evening! Well, what do you make of our new 'captain'?"


Following Nick, Kristen looked around the large dock. "He looks like a drunk fool, but I have to admit, he does know his stuff." She paused. "Who shall we look for first? I vote we search for the ones who are more fond of him first, just in case one of them figures it out."


"Excellent idea," Nick agreed. "I suggest we try the weather office and try to hire Heather, first."