Ivy wiped her hands on a bar rag and tapped Maith on the shoulder with a laugh. “It’s morning!” she cheerfully cried out.
Maith opened an eye and stared up at her. Then she stared down at her new shirt, courtesy of one of the fake orc pirates. Her borrowed armor had been cast aside and she was wearing a pair of badly fitting short pants and a shirt that had the embroidered slogan “We put the Ho in Horse’s Head.” She looked up at Ivy, confused.
“Those shirts are left over from last Christmas. The tailor got the lazy and only did one “Ho” instead of “Ho Ho.” We have a ton of them in back if you want to take some with you? We give them out to all the customers!” Ivy giggled.
Maith laughed and shook her head. “No, thank you. I think my pack is already too full!”
Ivy laughed with her and sat down on the bench. “Thank you for a great night! My tip spittoon is overflowing with gold coins! Juditha had a great night too!”
“Thank YOU for your help! They never even knew I was downing mugs of greater heal and water after that first round! I feel great!” Maith exclaimed. “How did we do? Do you think those men will be able to put out to sea today?”
Ivy laughed again and shook her head emphatically. “No! We had to call an ox cart to get them back to the Morning Star! Speaking of … Claire gave me a message to give to you when we rolled them in.” She handed Maith a piece of rolled parchment and a small bag.
Maith opened the parchment. It was as she hoped. It was from Chef Saralee McFall and read, “I have received your message and will be there at high tide to assist you in your endeavor. The alliance sends their regards and will see you soon.”
Maith nodded, pleased. She opened the small bag and was surprised to find a lone curiously adorned egg, decorated in a white tiger stripe pattern. She looked into the bag again, but there wasn’t a note. She groaned. “Is that yes or no? Typical!”
Shaking off her concerns, Maith rose and gave the happy waitresses hugs before summoning Bacon Bits and riding towards the dock. As she approached, she saw the jaunty hat before she saw Saralee. The saucy chef waved merrily at Maith and motioned to the docked boat. “Is this her?” she asked.
“Yes. Do you think you can sail her?” Maith asked anxiously.
“Honey, I can sail anything as long as there is wind!” Saralee grinned.
“Let’s get going … I don’t know how long those fake orcs will be out. They drank a lot, but I get the feeling they always drink a lot!”
Saralee nodded and boarded the huge ship. Maith followed her up the rope ladder and started checking the cannons. “They are all loaded and ready to go.”
Saralee grabbed the massive wheel, gave one more look at the sails and started moving the big ship out of the docks and into the open sea. Maith breathed a sigh of relief as the shores of Jhelom started to fade from view.
“Do you have a route in mind, Saralee?” Maith asked, anxiously.
Saralee nodded her head. “I do. There’s a band of mercenaries not too far from here if we go south. They go by the name of the Psychonauts. Don’t let that scare you though. I’ve run with them and their leader, Ofelia, plenty of times. If the gold is good, and the division of loot is fair … there are no problems. Their hangout isn’t far from a couple scary caves full of monsters, but the monsters never leave their caves really. If things get ugly, we can dock nearby and use an escape tunnel not far from there, but we’ll have to leave most of the cargo behind.”
Maith shook her head. “No. We need to get the supplies back into town. Does Ofelia know we are coming?
“Oh yes.” Saralee nodded emphatically. “She’s just waiting to hear if we want to camp there overnight or if she should bring her group over land and meet somewhere else.”
“Show me on the map?” Maith handed her a worn map.
“We’re right here and they shelter there.” Saralee pointed. “We can meet them at the northwest mouth of the bay, there, and then go back north. The escort ships can leave from there and we can pick up additional crew. I must warn you though … it won’t be smooth sailing at all.”
Maith turned green at the thought of choppy waters and sighed. “It’s okay. Let’s do that if you think it’s best. You’re the captain here!”
“We’ll sail clear of Buc’s Den. Maybe we can drop some of the stolen goods off at their intended destination to clear the hold out and get a little more speed as we make our final push into Moonglow.” Saralee handed the map back to Maith.
“Sounds good, Saralee. I’m going to go get some rest down below. Yell if you run into trouble!” Maith headed below deck.
“Trouble is all we’re going to run into … “ Saralee muttered. “Let’s hope the Psychonauts can help us get where we need to go. In one piece would be nice but … “
Maith opened an eye and stared up at her. Then she stared down at her new shirt, courtesy of one of the fake orc pirates. Her borrowed armor had been cast aside and she was wearing a pair of badly fitting short pants and a shirt that had the embroidered slogan “We put the Ho in Horse’s Head.” She looked up at Ivy, confused.
“Those shirts are left over from last Christmas. The tailor got the lazy and only did one “Ho” instead of “Ho Ho.” We have a ton of them in back if you want to take some with you? We give them out to all the customers!” Ivy giggled.
Maith laughed and shook her head. “No, thank you. I think my pack is already too full!”
Ivy laughed with her and sat down on the bench. “Thank you for a great night! My tip spittoon is overflowing with gold coins! Juditha had a great night too!”
“Thank YOU for your help! They never even knew I was downing mugs of greater heal and water after that first round! I feel great!” Maith exclaimed. “How did we do? Do you think those men will be able to put out to sea today?”
Ivy laughed again and shook her head emphatically. “No! We had to call an ox cart to get them back to the Morning Star! Speaking of … Claire gave me a message to give to you when we rolled them in.” She handed Maith a piece of rolled parchment and a small bag.
Maith opened the parchment. It was as she hoped. It was from Chef Saralee McFall and read, “I have received your message and will be there at high tide to assist you in your endeavor. The alliance sends their regards and will see you soon.”
Maith nodded, pleased. She opened the small bag and was surprised to find a lone curiously adorned egg, decorated in a white tiger stripe pattern. She looked into the bag again, but there wasn’t a note. She groaned. “Is that yes or no? Typical!”
Shaking off her concerns, Maith rose and gave the happy waitresses hugs before summoning Bacon Bits and riding towards the dock. As she approached, she saw the jaunty hat before she saw Saralee. The saucy chef waved merrily at Maith and motioned to the docked boat. “Is this her?” she asked.
“Yes. Do you think you can sail her?” Maith asked anxiously.
“Honey, I can sail anything as long as there is wind!” Saralee grinned.
“Let’s get going … I don’t know how long those fake orcs will be out. They drank a lot, but I get the feeling they always drink a lot!”
Saralee nodded and boarded the huge ship. Maith followed her up the rope ladder and started checking the cannons. “They are all loaded and ready to go.”
Saralee grabbed the massive wheel, gave one more look at the sails and started moving the big ship out of the docks and into the open sea. Maith breathed a sigh of relief as the shores of Jhelom started to fade from view.
“Do you have a route in mind, Saralee?” Maith asked, anxiously.
Saralee nodded her head. “I do. There’s a band of mercenaries not too far from here if we go south. They go by the name of the Psychonauts. Don’t let that scare you though. I’ve run with them and their leader, Ofelia, plenty of times. If the gold is good, and the division of loot is fair … there are no problems. Their hangout isn’t far from a couple scary caves full of monsters, but the monsters never leave their caves really. If things get ugly, we can dock nearby and use an escape tunnel not far from there, but we’ll have to leave most of the cargo behind.”
Maith shook her head. “No. We need to get the supplies back into town. Does Ofelia know we are coming?
“Oh yes.” Saralee nodded emphatically. “She’s just waiting to hear if we want to camp there overnight or if she should bring her group over land and meet somewhere else.”
“Show me on the map?” Maith handed her a worn map.
“We’re right here and they shelter there.” Saralee pointed. “We can meet them at the northwest mouth of the bay, there, and then go back north. The escort ships can leave from there and we can pick up additional crew. I must warn you though … it won’t be smooth sailing at all.”
Maith turned green at the thought of choppy waters and sighed. “It’s okay. Let’s do that if you think it’s best. You’re the captain here!”
“We’ll sail clear of Buc’s Den. Maybe we can drop some of the stolen goods off at their intended destination to clear the hold out and get a little more speed as we make our final push into Moonglow.” Saralee handed the map back to Maith.
“Sounds good, Saralee. I’m going to go get some rest down below. Yell if you run into trouble!” Maith headed below deck.
“Trouble is all we’re going to run into … “ Saralee muttered. “Let’s hope the Psychonauts can help us get where we need to go. In one piece would be nice but … “