Belinswae. Winter...
Mira Reinholt the mage comes up from below deck, and sees from the position of the lamp on the aft deck of the cutter that it's approaching dawn. The once powerful mage looks back at the two trailing vessels that carry the rest of the clan Galve war party, and sees that they too are keeping close to the coast as the leading cutter is doing.
The mage who is in exile from his homeland of Vexil, makes his way aft, to where the ship's captain has just come up on deck too. The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster joins the captain on the aft deck, just behind the wheel and the sailor at the helm.
"Might see the first of the blockade ships pretty soon" says the captain of the cutter, who continues with "That's if the northern most one's have drifted north".
"That happened often?" asks Mira Reinholt the mage "Not much" says the smuggler, the thin ship's captain the once powerful mage first spoke to when he entered the dockside inn in the smugglers haven up the coast.
"But it does sometimes" continues the ship's captain who is drinking from a mug of spiced wine after just waking up, the smuggler adds "Some of them tend to drift out to sea more often than not, especially when they're paid to by the smugglers in Falnic itself".
The exiled Vexilian mage nods in understanding, for Dalinvardél Tanith the elven spy has told him such. For that's how the elf from the principality of Alínlae in the Southlands has shipped stolen goods, as well as dwarven refugees out of Falnic, to the north to the Stone Hills this winter.
"Though if rumours are true, and that there's an army of those mad buggers who live out on those hell like plains are on the way to Falnic" says the captain of the cutter, who continues with "I'm guessing the ships on blockade duty are close into the harbour, for those navy rats will most likely help out in the defense of the city if it's attacked".
That's what I'm hoping for, Mira Reinholt thinks to himself as he watches the goings on, on the ship as the first mate comes up on deck, calling a change in the watch as it approaches dawn.
As the small night crew head below deck, and the larger day crew make their way up onto deck. A number of the passengers come up on deck too.
Warriors from clan Galve start coming up after having a bite to eat in the galley.
The smugglers vessel has a surprisingly well decked out galley with plenty of supplies, with fresh fruit and vegetables to go with a wide arrange of meat. It helps that most journeys they take are short, as this one is.
For the sail time from the smugglers haven up the coast, to their destination just north of the city of Falnic is less than a day at sea.
As false dawn takes effect, and most of the running lights are put out. As they are on the following two vessels.
The mage Reinholt spots a figure sitting on the fore deck. The once powerful mage didn't spot Shur Kee the monk there earlier.
The acolyte in the order of Bru Li had left the cabin they share before the Vexilian mage in exile woke up.
The spellcaster from south of the equator had wondered where the short, statured monk had got to. Seems that Shur Kee had been sitting in the darkness in the bow of the ship.
The highly skilled swordmaster from the city-state of Vexil in the Southlands figures the physical adept from the far eastern coast of the continent has been meditating in silence as night gives way to day, as dawn approaches.
The spellcaster who was once the most powerful mage of his generation to be found anywhere in the Southlands, who knows a fair bit about ships. As he's part of a family, that's one of the largest and most successful trading businesses in all of the Southlands. Though admittedly he knows more about airships, than he does about sailing ships.
Turns to the captain of the cutter and asks him "How close can you get into shore" the mage Reinholt has noticed the ship rides high on the waves, and has a low water line.
"Really close" says the captain of the smugglers ship, who continues with "The Falnic navy don't bother going in since the water is shallow for a fair distance" he then explains "There's a fishing village at one end, and their low bottomed craft only go out into the bay, barely beyond the shoals" he then adds "Vessels over the years have been stranded there if they go in too far, or they don't know the way to navigate in".
The exiled Vexilian mage lifts a questioning eyebrow, and the smuggler tells him "No smugglers ship has beached itself in the fifteen years I've been smuggling up and down the coast" he grins as he adds "We know how to navigate in" the captain of the cutter continues with "You might get your boots wet going all the way into shore, as you can walk in as it's so shallow, even with the tide in" the rather rake thin looking ship's captain then says "Or we can put the boats over the side and we can row in if you don't want to get your feet wet".
Mira Reinholt who knows the smuggler is trying to goad him, which he doesn't oblige. Instead looks at a few of the dwarven warriors who have made their way up on deck. And are looking away to the south and east as pre, or as it's more commonly referred to as false dawn, passes by.
As dawn starts to slowly take effect, and the sky beings to lighten, the mage Reinholt calls out "What is it Omp?".
The dwarven warrior Ompal who has come up on deck with Garkil, looks aft from a midships, and calls out in the common language "Smoke in the distance".
"Where?" asks the Southlander who knows the dwarves onboard can see a hell of a lot farther than any of the human crew, including those up in the crow's nest.
"Where we're going i guess" replies the warrior Ompal, who along with Garkil and a number of the other dwarven warriors, have been with the mage Reinholt ever since he came to the Galve clanhold at the start of winter, when the Justifiers of Belinswae, and their armies invaded the Stone Hills.
Seems those two have got themselves an army, and are attacking the city, the mage from south of the equator thinks to himself, the once powerful mage knows that he has to be super vigilant, and extremely careful later today.
For he has with him a war party of over two hundred dwarven warriors. And that they're going to the city of Falnic, where more than likely, a rather large ork is at the moment.
Mira Reinholt knows that orks, in this case Dorc da Orc, don't get along with dwarves. That's putting it lightly, for they're eternal enemies. Whose hate for one another, make the enmity between the townsmen of Belinswae, and the nomads of the plains to the east of Belinswae, like it's some kind of child's game.
The mage Reinholt knows he'll have to do his best to keep the dwarven war party far away from the large ork who is the warleader of his race, when they get to the city of Falnic.
On the fore deck, Shur Kee the monk accepts a mug of hot water from the dwarven warrior Tarong. The short, statured monk who has brought his pack up on deck with him. Takes a pouch from it, and from that, he takes out some dried leaves that he puts in the mug of hot water.
As he lets it steep, the acolyte in the order of Bru Li closes his eyes, and enjoys the smell of his brew. A pleasant counterpoint to the smell of the ocean spray on this cool winter's morning off the coast of Belinswae.
The wandering monk from the kingdom of Wah Lee on the far east coast of the continent. Sits like this for some time as the sun starts to rise in the east, on what looks like to be another clear winter's day.
The physical adept finally opens his eyes and starts drinking his tea after the order is given to turn to port, and the cutter heads into shore.
Mira Reinholt watches as they head into a bay, that's only about six miles north of the city of Falnic. As the sun rises in the east, the once powerful mage looks to the south and east. And thinks he sees the smoke in the dawn sky that the dwarves have spotted.
Then the spellcaster from the city-state of Vexil in the Southlands glances at the ship's captain, who gestures ahead, and says "Here we go" the smuggler then calls out "Sound the depth!" followed by "Reef the sails!" he then says to the mage Reinholt "Pretty appropriate that last order".
The spellcaster who is also a highly skilled swordmaster nods in agreement, as the sound of the surf hitting the reefs dotting the front of the bay they're heading into can be heard.
Even in the faint light of early morning, the exiled Vexilian mage can see the water hitting the reefs, causing spray to fly up into the air.
The cutter weaves its way through the reef line at the mouth of the bay. With the two trailing ships from the smugglers haven following in it's wake. The captain and his crew have done this countless times over the years,
But still, they're ever vigilant, with sailors on deck, up the mast, and up in the crow's nest, looking down at the water, watching the reefs, calling out which ones they can pass over, and which ones to avoid, and to take the gaps between them.
"Tide's going in this morning, we've got it a bit easy" says the captain to the spellcaster from south of the equator, the smuggler who is keeping a close eye on the helmsman, continues with "We should be able to get almost right into shore because of it".
The mage Reinholt nods his head, then as they clear the last of the reefs and enter the long, shallow bay. He heads below deck as a number of the dwarven warriors are doing, and retrieves his pack and weapons from his cabin.
Back on deck, the highly skilled swordmaster sees that the cutter is angled to starboard as it heads to shore. He looks overboard, and in the early morning light he clearly sees the sandy bottom of the bay, which the cutter is barely above as it heads closer and closer into shore.
On the waters of the bay are a handful of fishing boats from the village at it's northern end, the cutter and the two trailing smugglers ships are heading for the south end of the bay, about two miles from the fishing village.
"We'll walk in" says Mira Reinholt the mage to the captain when he sees how close they're going to get to shore, and how shallow the water is across most of the bay.
The cutter finally comes to a stop just twenty yards from the long sandy beach that goes along the entire length of the bay. It's shallow keel is only a foot or so above the bottom, the tide coming in this morning has made it easier for the captain and his crew to get the ship so close to the shore without beaching it.
"Overboard!" calls out Mira Reinholt after the captain points out the start of the track they should follow that leads up and out of the bay. The order is repeated in dwarven by a number of the warriors.
And the dwarves from the Galve clanhold in the Stone Hills, go over the rails and climb down the cargo nets the crew have put over the sides.
They're doing the same on the two other ships they've hired in the town that's a smugglers haven up the coast. They jump down into the shallow water, which after a few steps is only ankle deep as they walk to shore.
The two humans, Mira Reinholt the mage and Shur Kee the monk go overboard, and walk to shore. Once on the beach, they look back at the ships, and see that boats are being lowered over the sides as the last of the dwarven warriors walk to the beach through the shallow water.
Tie lines will be fixed to the bow of the ships from the boats, the crew rowing the boats will eventually turn the ships so that they're facing out to sea, so that they can sail out of the long, shallow bay.
The Vexilian mage in exile lifts an arm in farewell to the cutter's captain and crew, then as the sun continues to rise in the sky to the east, he along with the short, statured monk from the otherside of the continent, walk up the beach and head for the track that the dwarven warriors from the Galve clanhold are already going up.
Next stop for the war party from the Stone Hills is the city of Falnic . . . . . .
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