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Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4925616" data-attributes="member: 3285">Lady Quay: PrologueKham and Sebastian, stared skeptically across the table at Vlad. They were sequestered in a dark recess of the alehouse known as the Dead Reckoning. “So we just do this one job and all is forgiven?” asked Kham in disbelief.“That’s how the Commissioner put it to me,” said Vlad.  “But we’re all in, since we broke the law, so to speak.”“And they’re just going to let me walk…” Kham stared into his mug.  He wasn’t sure how he felt about all this.“Not quite,” said Vlad. “Technically, you’re dead.  Freeport declared all hands on deck of the prison ship drowned.  So it’s more a matter of letting you stay dead.”“Sure.” Kham shrugged.  “That makes about as much sense as the rest of the laws in Freeport.”“And we just have to go along with this Rekello, I suppose,” said Sebastian in a strange voice.  Since his return from Carcosa he seemed perpetually distracted and he spoke with an odd cadence.“That’s what Tillinghast said.”  Vlad took a drink from his mug, then made a face.  The ale was terrible. “He put word out through his contacts that we’re hired thugs working for him.  They don’t know he’s been caught yet.”“And he lied to save his own skin,” whispered Sebastian.  “I don’t know that we can trust him.”“Where’s Beldin?” asked Vlad.  “I told you all to meet me here.”“He gated back to Solanos Mor,” said Sebastian flatly. “I trust the agreement covers all of us, not just humans.”Vlad didn’t like the way Sebastian excluded himself from being human.  “Yes, it covers all of us.”Kham nodded towards the door.  “I’m in.  And here comes Rekello now.”A rugged looking sailor entered and immediately spotted them.  He walked over to the table, noticed the empty seat, and took it.“You’re the mercenaries Tillinghast hired?”Vlad nodded.  “We are.”“Good.  The Lady Quay is an extremely fast vessel, so the trip should take no more than three days.  I promise to have you back in Freeport within one week, where I’ll pay the remaining half of what Tillinghast promised you.”“Who’s our captain?” asked Kham.“Captain Winnifer Miro,” said Rekello.  “The goal of the voyage is the safe delivery of medicinal herbs and healing draughts, to be signed over to Marissa Lapideaux working on Aegis Island.”Kham leaned forward.  “Winnifer Miro?  Didn’t her ship go under?”Vlad shot him a look. Rekello looked uncomfortable.“Yes.  Her last ship, the Night Heron, met with a bad end.  This is her first expedition since losing her consort, Thispin.” He rushed into a defense of Miro.  “She’s really quite an excellent captain…”Kham waved him off.  “Sure, sure. I’ve heard of Captain Miro.  Good captain, bad luck.  I’ve also heard that the Lady Quay has a propensity for ghosting.”“Ghosting?” asked Vlad.“Folks have noticed that the Lady Quay moves pointedly in the harbor,” said Kham, “even in the complete absence of wind.”Rekello cleared his throat.  “Yes, well, ghosting is not uncommon.  Ships of all types experience such an event once in a blue moon.  On the open seas, anything can happen and usually does.”Sebastian leveled his gaze at Rekello.  “And what do you need us for?”The dark-kin had long since given up pretending to be a normal human.  His huge bat wings were unavoidable.  Even his tail was out.  It was encircled around a mug that he sipped from occasionally. “Uhm…the Pale Sea teems with pirates and natural predators.  That’s why we asked for Tillinghast’s help.  We’ll need marines for anything we encounter.”“We’re in,” said Vlad.Rekello slapped the table.  “Good.  Provision yourselves for a week-long journey on the open sea.”  He withdrew a lengthy document from his doublet.  “And I’ll need you to sign articles.”“I will sign no Sarishan Oath,” said Sebastian.Rekello looked up at the dark-kin.  “Nor would I expect you to.  A man’s word is good enough here in Freeport.”One by one, they signed the articles.  Rekello gathered the papers up and stuffed them back in his doublet. “Excellent.  Meet me at my dinghy in an hour.  It’s tethered to the docks near here.” Rekello got up and left.”You nearly blew our cover,” muttered Vlad.”Oh and now you’re the undercover pro.”  Kham smirked.  “We had to be convincing,” Sebastian said without a hint of sarcasm.  “Besides.  There’s something…off…about him.”They all stared down at their drinks and decided not to question the source.</blockquote>

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