with roman and ba's consent:

Bedge, not a big man by any measure, never the less straightened to his fullest height and spoke down to the dwarf. "I'd like nothing more than to put aside our... differences. I'm quite happy to be different from you, short-arse; I think things through before I assume I know whats going on. I don't go on witch hunts against someone because they're a different shape or color than myself. Most of all, I like to get to know people before I judge them. That's right, you heard me... I said people. Not 'elf', not 'dwarf', not 'human'. I don't know what your problem with me is-"

"My problem with you is that you're a slimey, manipulative, nasty piece of work!" roared Hanro, losing his temper at last.

"'Manipulative'," repeated Bedge, pronouncing the word correctly. "It's pronounced manipulative." Bedge turned to Szazzkur and, completely ignoring the fuming dwarf, said "You've never sailed before, have you? On a ship, if you steer without look outs, you might just run around on a sand bar... if you're lucky. Sometimes though, a storm catches your sails and all you can do then is let the wind take you where it will. Fight it, and the storm will rip your sails to pieces, if not your whole ship."

"Ve calls dat 'buildin' yer yurt on da wrong side o' da cliff', doin' anyt'ing you can't take back wit'out t'inki' it t'rough." said Teurg from the stairs to the quarter deck. Goryn nodded thoughtfully without thinking.

"And we call it 'grabbing an ogre by the ears'," barked Thistle, who stood in the doorway to the officer's cabins. "Mr. Talom, Mr. Warpacer, I would remind you that you both grabbed an ogre by the ears when you signed up for this mission. You can't let go now. I'll see you in my cabin at once, Talom," and with that the short but authorotative man disappeared into the ship. Bedge gave Hanro one last look and then confidantly, almost arrogantly, followed.

Hanro seethed, but marshalled his anger. It never once crossed his mind that he may have made a mistaken and knew in his stones that the half-breed was up to no good; time to sort *some* of that out right now! Hanro turned to where the two stow-aways had stood behind Bedge, only to find no sight of them anywhere on the deck. "Where'd they go? The young'uns!"

"They slipped below," mumbled Goryn as the half-orc turned back to watch the horizon and occasionally spit over the side.

edit- because i know more about grammar than ba does.