Captain Renlow welcomes the three strangers aboard his ship as warmly as he did Elenka, introducing himself as
"Cap'n Renlow! Pleased ter meet ya." He gives Fulgrim's hand an especially enthusiastic squeeze, although it's mostly unclear whether this is out of simple enthusiasm at the presence of another dwarf, an attempt to reassure a clearly water-wary passenger, or for some other reason altogether.
[sblock=Eanos]Eanos gets the sense that the dwarven captain harbors a certain attraction for Fulgrim.[/sblock]
"Aye, I've got some dwarven ale, which you're more than welcome to: received an extra cask by accident during my last shipment from the Sethirs. I'm afraid to admit that capt'ning a boat with as light a crew as the The Downpour has means I don't have much of an opportunity to indulge myself as often as I'd like, and truth be told, I admit I'm more of a wine drinker, as sacrilegious as that may sound." Grinning, the captain adds,
"Should come as no surprise that it takes an unusual dwarf to man a river-boat."
"Miss Elenka's got it right that we'll be in fer a much smoother journey than if we were huggin' the coast. And I've got a method fer expeditin' the journey a bit."
While the captain sets about readying the ship for departure, Nevil helps them stow their gear in the cabin below. As it was on Elenka's journey, a sheet has been set up to divide the shared space so as to allow for some privacy between genders. The group is just finishing up choosing bunks and getting settled in when they feel the *bump* of the ship's separation from the dock: they're off.
The first couple of days see the four getting settled into life on the water, with Elenka and Audra adjusting more quickly owing to their recent travels from Martna. Fulgrim is pleasantly surprised to find that the cask of ale is of especially good quality, and with Captain Renlow's blessing, he breaks into it at first opportunity. The captain has a few spare fishing poles and nets on board, and between the six of them, they manage to catch enough seafood to eat well: the group even dredges for river shrimp from time to time. Captain Renlow proves to be an excellent cook, and the group comes to enjoy their evening meals together. Despite his initial statements of prudence, the group finds that the captain has a decent stock of wine, which he shares with all whom are interested.
It occurs to you all that, despite the uncertainties of your coming journey, there are many worse ways to travel, and not many better.
[sblock=OOC]Ballet
and D&D? That's quite a pair of hobbies, IW.
Figured I'd leave a bit of space to RP here; given the length of the journey IC, I'd hate to just skip over this altogether. Plus it gives jk a chance to see his creation (
The Downpour) from the other of the screen. Will try to keep things from dragging.[/sblock]