Breakfast is being served, yes, served camp style by the docks as last minute preparations and everything is being done. People are responsible for loading their own gear aboard, including armaments and personal effects.
The food being served: yesterday's fish, fresh eggs, cured ham, some greens, and some kind of reheated porridge.
Roberto shows up, unshaven. He looks menacing, like he just murdered someone. He is a murderer, he has killed innocent Muslim women and children in the war. He...
...the dread feeling disappears suddenly. Roberto just looks a little disheveled, but otherwise normal. For a second he was giving off a creepy vibe like the other wizards do, but it blew away with a gust of wind and he seems like a normal guy again, a grizzled old soldier he is but nothing strange or creepy.
He is a wizard though, and though he has the Gentle Gift it wasn't always so. What was just experienced was a relapse of Magical Air, which suddenly went back into remission. Parma shields against it as normal, so Lucas cannot tell. Those who felt it were unused to it and did not expect it, were quickly relieved when it suddenly went away, and are incapable of comprehending what happened or understanding why. Roberto seems to be unaware of it and is going about things as normal. He stops to talk to Allen, who relieved Miquel from night watch when dawn came. Then he sits down and eats breakfast with the camp.
We can pretty much launch whenever we are ready. Once we are done eating and clean up, just bring your personal gear aboard and we are set.
Lucas rises with the others and stretches as he stands up. First and foremost, he reactivates his Parma Magica that went away at dawn, pausing as well to give himself a little extra protection as well.[sup]1[/sup] He had a little to drink the night before, but not to excess, so his headache is manageable. He offers a good morning to everyone he meets on the way to the food, and seems generally cheerful.
Unaware of what just happened with Roberto, Lucas has a quick breakfast of eggs and ham with a side of the some of the greens and whatever it is they have to drink. He makes short work of his meal and quickly cleans up. Immediately after, he goes over to where his pack is, He hasn't brought much, since this is a short trip. But even so, it's more than he feels like hefting at the moment. "Up you go," he says,[sup]2[/sup] and the pack immediately rises in the air of its own accord. "Can I give you a hand?" he asks one of the others who seems to have a large amount to load, and is still a bit green about the gills from his excesses the previous evening.
[hr][/hr]
[sup]1[/sup] Casting Double of Impenetrable Silk. Casting Roll (target 15): 1d10+24=30.
[sup]2[/sup] Casting The Unseen Porter to pick up his things. Casting Roll (target 10): 1d10+15=24.
He doesn't need to use gestures or incantations. But he does have to speak, since it's range is Voice.
Offer to give a hand to anyone who looks like they have a lot to carry onboard, or who looks under-the-weather from last night.
Adan, after waking everyone else, begins with his morning prayers, and is late to breakfast. Fortunately he has very little to load in the way of personal belongings.
Bashir wakes early and performs his morning prayers. With no other Muslims around, there was no need for Adhan, a call to prayer. But still, it was the doctor's habit to pray upon rising, whether there was a rise to prayer or not. When his prayers are done, Bashir has breakfast, eating eggs, greens, and porridge. He is quiet after the way his conversation the previous night ended, and starts no conversation himself. His meal done, he then moves over to his pack and his medical supplies and starts loading them onto the ship.
(sorry for the delay. We are having a terrible time at the office (we have been hit by a truck worth of crap lately) and keeping track of the story is taxing me, even if you are writing slightly less than in other stories. Will try to catch up with Miquel in the next days)
Let us presume that we are off to sea.
It is a lovely day for sailing. A bit cool, very light breeze, sunny.
Anyone who knows anything about sailing will notice something quite unusual. There isn't enough wind to accomplish this speed, we are moving in a straight line accross the beeze instead if tacking, and the sails are billowed the opposite direction, as if being filled from wind drag from our motion.
Johan calls out. "Ximo! Jimo! Lower the sails. They offer no assistance in this paltry wind and dey is just slowin' us down." The two Catalonian seamen look at him confused and at each other. "Idiots! Seriously! Take the frikin' sails down before I put my foot in your @$$!". They do, and without the wind drag the ship picks up a little speed.
Lucas stands near the prow of the ship, enjoying the breeze as it crosses the ship. He tries to keep out of the way of the sailors, but otherwise enjoys the sea voyage. He seems totally non-plussed about the fact that the ship is moving on its own accord, without regard to sails or wind.
Not to be outdone, Roberto stands at the bow dramatically, one foot on a crate, cape fluttering in the wind, fists at his hips, and a broad smile. He chats it up with Lucas, his fellow magus.
"Pretty amazing, eh? It is not me doing it. It's that guy." (hikes a thumb over at Johan). I originally hired him because he is an exceptional brawler. Saw him take down an Englishman twice his size in a bar fight. Takes after his father in that regard. His pops is also an exceptionally skilled sailor, even more so than Junior here. But the kid has supernatural skills, magical powers granted to him by King Neptune as a reward. He'll be glad to tell you about it sometime. Right now he is concentrating, but when he gets us into a spot with some good wind, he'll have his men hoist sail and he'll take a break.
When we get to the Covenant of Pyramids, the guy you want to talk to is Oestrides of Bonisagus. No relation, just a coincidence. My mom spelled her name with a Z, and I think this guy is a Greek. Anyway, he is the guy to talk to about unique books. The guy is a Seeker and not only collects, he creates. And he is the one that created my flying carpet. See if you can get a copy of that Lab Text. I will address their council all formal like. You stand besides me for that. I am going to propose an alliance between our covenants, of sorts. What Soloman wants, I think, is to get permission to set up a base of operations from which to launch our expedition. It would be awesome if we could set up a temporary portal. They may also have information that will be useful and other help they might offer. They are going to want something in return though. Even if they do not ask for anything and act magnanimous, it is only proper that we give as good as we get. I'm kind of liking that phrase. Whatever. Anyway, I am trying to think of something we can offer them. Any ideas you have will be greatly appreciated.
Lucas looks off into space for a long moment, lost in thought. "I'll be talking to them about books they might value," Lucas replies. "But I don't think that's the sort of quid pro quo that they'll be looking for to allow us to set up a base." He puts one arm up against the rail and leans on it. "Vis is always valuable, of course. But that's the crudest possible solution, and not one that I think the masters would appreciate." The magus shakes his head. "What we need is something that they want as much as we want a foreward base. And if there isn't anything that they want, we need to make them want it."
"First is the question of just how much good versus harm we'll be doing them," Lucas opines. "Will our - and by 'our' I mean the covenant's, of course - escapades in the City of Brass make them safer or more likely to suffer harm in the future? It's useless to ask them. I'm sure any answer would be that granting us a forward base would be a great sacrifice that will cause them nothing but grief for years to come. Of course the truth may be something altogether different. But we need to figure out that truth before we make our proposal. Are we doing them a favor or does the benefit flow the other way? That's the big question in my mind."
"After that, we can start to think about what they might need that we have. That could involve access to some of our lands for reasons of their own - I can't think why they'd be interested in lands across the known world from their home, but it's possible. We have some regios and ruins that might pique their interest. But I think your best bet may be in the skills of our magi. Their covenant has its talents, I have no doubt. And in ways I'm sure they outshine us. But those aren't the areas of concern to us. Where they shine they need no help. Mayhaps we can help where they are deficient. Perhaps there is a task we can help them with that would be easier for us to perform than for them. It's worth considering. And the first place to look, I should think, is in the City of Brass itself. Is there anything that our magi might potentially do while in the City of Brass that would serve their purposes? The Covenant of the Pyramids is so much closer to such matters, it seems entirely possible that they might have some unfinished business there. If so, we might offer to trade assistance with settling that business in exchange for help in pursuing ours."
Roberto looks at you with a raised eyebrow.
You sound like a Tytalus magus, and I find it hard to follow your line of thought. I was thinking more along the lines of a fair offer of fair value. Explain some more what you have in mind.
"Well," says Lucas, "you have to think like a trader. What do they need? We know that they live close to the border to the City of Brass, so they've probably had dealings with its denizens before, for good or ill. If they've had relations with them, then there will be things they need done, or undone, in the City of Brass. Maybe there's an item they need retrieved from there, or some information to be gathered. Perhaps there's a jann who must be contacted or, more seriously, opposed. They'll know the details. But given the danger in going to the City of Brass, they ought to jump at the chance to get whatever task needs doing done by our magi who have already planned an expedition there. In return, of course, their covenant will give us every possible assistance in making it safely to and from the City of Brass. How could they do anything less?" He shrugs. "Of course, there's no guarantee that they have something that needs doing in the City of Brass. But given their location, it seems like a line of questioning well worth pursuing."
Roberto smiles. "Think like a trader, eh? Now you sound more like a Mercere. I prefer to look at it more like a Tremere, or a Trianoma-Bonisagus? The analogies break if you push them too far. But I mean something like this, and you can look at it like a sales pitch if you want. Something along the lines of we are already friends and allies, we need help, and would be glad to offer you any assistance needed now or in the future.
Think that will work?
I dunno.
I do like your idea though. They will certainly know more about the place than we do, and any help they ask of us pertaining to that or something else is just more opportunity for adventure ."
"Oh, certainly, if there's an existing relationship, I'd definitely build on that." Lucas nods his head. "But I'm still a little hazy as to exactly how Andorra relates to this covenant, so I was conservative with my suggestion. Besides, it never hurts to have a bargaining chip in your back pocket against need. I mean, you're going to be in the City of Brass already. The cost to you of doing one more thing while there may be small compared to the cost it would take to our hosts to mount an expedition in the first place. Knowing what they might want in the City of Brass can only be an advantage to us."
Our relationshipis that we are all magi of the Order. The bit at the end of the Oath, "Enemies of the Order are my enemies, friends of the Order are my friends and allies of the Order are my allies". Granted, many magi are not nearly as affable as they should be.
hmmm...
You came from Normandy, right? I did time there too. My sympathies.
I don't think these guys at Pyramids are as nasty as the magi from up there. I was there once, briefly, about 4 or 5 years ago. They were very helpful. I was in pursuit of a rogue magus headed towards the same City. Oestrides of Bonisagus, he is the one who gave me my flying carpet. Just gave it to me, said someone had visions of my arrival and said I would need it. I did too. We cut the guy off flying a ship, different ship, and I swooped down to intercept him on the carpet and messed their day up something fierce. Did not get the chance to check out the city or learn more about it. I had to rescue my crew from Cairo and finish my mission. Duty calls y'know.
So, I only know the one guy, barely know him, and I have no idea if he is still there. So I have no idea how they will react, and your ideas may be what are needed. But I really want to do something nice for these guys anyway.
"You may well get the help you need out of pure altruism," Lucas agrees. "But it doesn't hurt to shore up that altruism with a little bit of self-interest. And as you say, it's never a bad idea to do something nice for your hosts."
Johan keeps the pace up until around sunset. He has found some wind, not the best, but he needs to take a rest.
The guys but out rations for evening chow. Mostly the same stuff you had earlier; salt fish, cured ham, some read, etc. These is also some cheese this time, and everyone gets an orange.
Johan talks while chewing his food. mfff At this pace smack-chew I am guessing we'll hit the Egyptian coast swallow by sunset tomorrow.
Selim nods as he partakes of the food, "Ah, wonderful. I must admit that I am quite looking forward to seeing Cairo and Giza. I have heard many things of Egypt, and I hope at least some of them are true."
((I am not planning any encounters until we get to Egypt, so feel free to roleplay your character on deck, a sliver of a slice of life, and tell me when you are ready to hit land.
Will try to catch up with Miquel in the next days)
Did not get the chance to check out the city or learn more about it. I had to rescue my crew from Cairo and finish my mission. Duty calls y'know.