Talia realizes that she's naked. "Oh bother." And she proceeds to conjure some clothing to cover herself. "I'd forgotten about that, I was giving the old man a show, but he's left with my friend. Feel free to come aboard, and if you have no objection, I'll..." she looks at him with the hunger of a woman with carnal desires, "I'll put you through your paces." Tearlach will notice that all the men aboard the ship are handsome, but probably have nothing on him.
Tearlach blinks at the conjured clothing. Okay, that's something you don't see every day. Oh, hell. Could she be one of those Verditius weirdos? Order of Whatsit? Is that where I know her from?
(( Int 1 + OoH lore 1 +roll of 4=6. Not sure if that's sufficient. It's obvious that this is not an ordinary ship, at any rate, so he has no problems assuming Talia is the captain. ))
((Also, changing the font color, since it matches Talia's. 
))
He trots up the gangplank, dropping to the deck, and peers around him with interest, practiced eye roving over the deck and the rigging, before turning to Talia and -- after a moment's hesitation -- sticking out a broad calloused hand. "Tearlach mac Meirrill, at yer service."
"Please, come aboard." Talia will take his hand and welcome him aboard. She'll introduce him to the crew. They all seem capable, doing their duties of tying knots and what not. "I'm the captain, Talia." Talia's pretty perceptive, so we can check to see if she can see through his lie about length of service, and let's call this a stressful and explode the roll 12+3+2=17. "Your accent is off, you're not from around here, are you?"
"Not even close. Scotland, originally, but I've been everywhere. North Sea, Black Sea, the Med... "
(( Jonathan, you probably don't remember, but Tearlach has had some dealings with Favonius, and knows both Memnos and Aeliophanes. We also established Talia might remember him as Stavros of Santorini, an infamous and successful pirate. You can probably use that god awful Perception roll to recognize him. 
For that matter, is Aeliophanes still aboard? ))
((When the ships docked, Aeliophanes went aboard the Persea to get some vis and then went up to Verdi to find someone to heal him, since neither Talia nor Aodhan knows the appropriate healing rituals. When that's done, he will return...say, late afternoon.))
((It is possible that Talia does not remember him, since I think I'm playing Talia that she had eyes only for Aeliophanes at the time. She probably only worked with Memnos, and Aeliophanes is described as being on his own a lot... So, I'm leaning towards the fact that Talia doesn't know him, but he might know her.))
(( All right, that works too. We'll see where the conversation goes. If nothing else, the penny may well drop once Aeliophanes comes back aboard. ))
"I've traveled the Med a bit, but that was long ago... So, you're wanting to sign on...?" She pauses, indicating that the man hasn't actually introduced himself.
Talia subtly points out that she can see through his charade of being less experienced than he is, "We could probably use more crew, and certainly someone with leadership experience would be a plus..."
"Tearlach mac Meirrill".
At Talia's line about needing someone with leadership experience, he blinks. Something's definitely not right here. Leadership is needed for the officers: captain, bosun, maybe a first mate. Most people have a command team in place, and don't hire for those positions off the dock.
He rubs his chin thoughtfully. "I do have experience behind the mast as well. So... if you need people with leadership experience... you'd be a merchant owner...?"
Then the penny drops. Sails furling by themselves, clothes appearing out of nowhere, a woman in charge of the ship, a woman walking around on the ship stark naked without the sailors rioting or lining up, the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach he gets when talking to her... Tearlach snaps his fingers. "Ha! No, you're not a merchant owner. You're an enchantress. One of them... what were they called? Order of Verditius whatsits?" He grins broadly. "Now I remember where I've seen you! Fellow calling himself 'Memnos' -- went to see him at his workshop a while back and passed you in the hallway."
(( I'm thinking Tearlach dealt more with Memnos than Aeliophanes. He might have tried to steal Aeliophanes' ship at one point and barely survived the experience, but mostly he'd be procuring stuff for the Verditius, or selling stuff the Verditius needed discreetly disposed of.))
"I'm not a member of House Verditius. If you have any knowledge of the Order, then saying I'm from House Tytalus might mean something, but it doesn't have any bearing on the discussion at hand. Truthfully, I have few men that are ready for command, and you had the look of someone who has handled command before. My interests are progressing along a line similar to Memnos. He and I both share a similar focus in our magics, he lends his towards building ships, while I have done more with actually sailing them." Talia pauses trying to get the measure of the man before her. "I would be more than a merchant owner. I would retain overall command, but my men have a desire to sail more often than I do, right now. The best term for me would be commodore[1], as I have a few ships, and can create more of this same type relatively easily." At mention of ship creation, rather than building, Tearlach should note that the joinery and fittings seem to be all expertly created, hinting that the ship he is on was conjured from thin air in a moment, rather than actually built over a period of time.
"I served him as an assistant for a while after Verecunda took to the sea. It was a good fit for both of us, as it allowed me to fully realize a gift my pater left undeveloped, and he gained an able maga who could do more than an apprentice."
[1] Use of commodore is anachronistic, but it is a better communication of the relationship that Talia would look to develop...
(( Int +1, OoH lore 1, roll of 4 = 6 ))
Tearlach doesn't look like that rings any bells.
Tearlach puts his hands behind his back, and rocks on his heels, staring thoughtfully at Talia. He's trying to get her measure as much as she's trying to get his. "So you're looking for someone who can captain a ship, and who can also teach others to do so. Right. In that case, I have a proposal for you. What's your next port of call, and when were you planning on setting sail?"
"Well, I'm at Aodhan's pleasure, for a bit. As soon as he's finished here, we plan to depart and return home to Insula Canaria, which is inside Loch Ness. We'll stock up on provisions here and will not likely make any port until we arrive home. We have items that allow us fresh food for the duration and make sea water drinkable, and so forth." Talia smiles, "We can be out to sea for an extremely long time, and my crew doesn't seem to have a strong desire to put into port, since I willingly satisfy their demands of the flesh..." She lets that hang in the air suggestively.
Tearlach raises his eyebrows and gives Talia another once-over, this one frankly evaluating. He's undressing her with his eyes, that much is plainly obvious, but it's an oddly dispassionate look... less lust involved than Talia would expect.
It's a ship, it's a laboratory, it's a floating buttock-shop! Multi-talented, she is. Then again, given all the pretty-boys running around, it's probably more like her personal stud stable.
Out loud he says "Well. Good to know you're willing to go an extra mile for your crew." He flashes a brief leering grin at the Tytalus. "Or at least a few extra inches. Tell you what... how's about I take over as captain from here to Loch Ness. A trial period. You'll have plenty of chances to evaluate my performance along the way, and see if I fit into your... plans." That line is delivered with an absolutely straight face. "We can discuss a more permanent arrangement then, if need be."
"That sounds reasonable. I've been studying this trip, for the most part, and my first mate[1] has been in charge, effectively, though he doesn't really care for it. This ship is normally docked at our covenant, I only brought it out for this trip, because she needed a captain, I had a bit of wanderlust, and the first mate didn't care for being a captain with a magus other than me on board."
[1] I don't have a grog statted out as this first mate. Just a nebulous idea of a character that doesn't mind being in charge, but doesn't want to be in charge all the time, like a ship's captain would be.
(( That's fine. Want to give him a name, or should I just run with it? ))
(( I guess I'll run with it.))
In the next day or so, Tearlach, with the assistance of Whitlow (the first mate) clambers over the Whoa Buoy from truck to keel, getting himself familiar with the ship and the crew in equal measure, finding out what the ship can do. He grills the sailors mercilessly on the magic they've seen on the ship and how it affects their life, and on what Talia is like to work for, bedding aspects aside.
(( JL, I do have a scene in mind I wanted to play out -- about two weeks or so into the voyage. There's a conversation Tearlach needs to have with Talia, and it's going to take him about that long to figure out what to say. However, given that you're still catching up on both games, it can wait. Let me know when you've got time, please.))
((Sorry about that, I missed this post somehow. I've still got a lot plates that I need to start spinning back up.))
"Checking out the ship is fine, except a portion of my quarters are considered inviolate under the Code of Hermes. Magi know this explicitly, and we have a symbol that marks this, though you might be unaware of what the sanctum marker looks like, or you might have forgotten. Any magi crossing the sanctum boundary, especially if uninvited or not a Quaesitor of the order conducting an authorized investigation can be killed without repercussion. Non-magi," Talia continues not wanting to use the term mundanes, which she finds vaguely pejorative, " should also be cautious of the marker, as some may suspect you of spying for another magus and kill you outright. I would also request permission of the other magi before you investigate their quarters, as a simple courtesy."
Talia takes a deep breath, "A ship at sea is its own world. To be the captain of a ship is to be the unquestioned ruler of that world and requires all of the leadership skills of a prince or minister.[1]"
((We can do whatever, I'm not sure if PB has anything planned for this excursion...))
[1] Shamelessly quoted from Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.
Tearlach nods. "I agree entirely, and I'm relieved that you understand that. This does, however, put us in an interesting position, since with both of us aboard, the ship effectively has two captains. So... let's divide our duties. The ship is yours, without question, but the quarterdeck is mine. You tell me what you want done, and step back. I decide on the best way to carry it out, and issue the orders accordingly."
Laying down the law in that fashion to a magus is probably not the wisest idea. Tearlach doesn't know any better, though... and even if he did, he's not a man to kowtow or tug his forelock.
Talia smiles. She doesn't consider this laying down the law, more along the lines of opening the lines of communication and marking clear boundaries. "I disagree. As I said, I'm the commodore. I don't expect to have to exercise my rank and privilege, except in extreme situations. The ship and crew are yours to command, with the exception of my quarters and myself. If we should have need to engage in combat I will assume command at that point, as the crew is used to my use of magic to defend the ship. Those orders will flow more easily from me to them than from me to you to them. If the crew should come to me with complaints about your discipline or overall handling of the ship, I will refer the matter to your hands. So long as we are making good time back to Inverness, you will be satisfying my demands, and that is all you need concern yourself with. I'll explain this to the crew as well. That you are in charge, and attempts to go to me to countermand an order will be dealt with by you, as you determine appropriate. I need to start building ships more and sailing them less. If they have a desire to sail, then they need to get used to that. The only orders I expect to give you are to make sail towards Inverness when the Aodhan and his pater are ready to depart and once we arrive to clear the deck so that I can create a ceremonial space to change the shape of the ship to a flatter bottom with a shallower draft to travel up the River Ness. Understood?"
Tearlach nods slowly. "Understood..." and then doubletakes as the maga's last words sink in. "Wait, you can do that? That's... rather extraordinarily handy." A slow, cold grin crawls its way across his face. "Could be real useful, too...." The grin is abruptly extinguished as he remembers he's past the whole piracy thing now. Old habits die hard, though.