.....

Dom was taken aback from the argument between Hanro and Bedge. He looked around for his satchel, got the bag of cookies and turned to the boys.

"Here, you must be hungry. Have you eaten anything today?"

Silja, Goryn, Szazzkur and of course Hanro hear Bedge. Silja and Goryn don't realize the import of Bedge's words. Szazzkur knows that Bedge is insulting Hanro for some reason, but doesn't know why. Hanro not only knows Bedge is trying to goad him, but is reasonably certain that he's doing so to try and make him look bad in front of the others.

Hanro glared at Bedge. If a mere dwarf's glare could bore holes in a half-elf's face, then this particular glare would have. If at first he but considered Bedge to be a manipulative bastard, this only proved it. Bedge was goading him, trying to make him look bad. He was hoping that Hanro would attack him, and afterwards to be blamed for the whole event.

Well, Hanro wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of it.

"I do not have anything against…elves," Hanro said slowly, measuring every word, "though 'twould be more accurate to say that I dunnae have anything against elves in general. T'is certain elves, and certain humans, that I can't say tha' I like. Mistakes can be made about people when they're chosen for treks such as this 'un, specially when there's few candidates and time's a countin'."

"Please," said Szazzkur, who approached the two from the side, "there is no need for this, nor for these insults. I am sure that it is all a misunderstanding, on both sides. Both of you have said words that I am sure you wish to have left unsaid, words said in the heat of the moment and that you did not weigh and consider fully. Please, consider your words from this point on and do not let this matter to go any further!"

"Oh, I'm willin' ta admit that a certain mistake was made, Silvertongue," said Hanro while still staring directly into Bedge's eyes, smiling mirthlessly, "so, do we put our differences aside fer now?"

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.

The next two weeks on board the ship passed without any major calamities. Hanro was unable to keep the two boys from Bedge's influence, but on the other hand, the half-elf was kept so busy with navigation and other duties that he didn't have much chance to spend with them himself. Like the rest of the crew, the scouts helped manage the sails, check the ropes, and keep watch.

There were several storms along the way, but each time, the ship rose above them. Telbech maintained spells to keep the air thick around the ship and protect it from the winds. Several times, they would see something moving at a distance. It may have been a dragon far off, or a seabird much closer. Once, a roc approached within fifty yards of the ship before veering away.

They passed over islands on occasion, some of them with vegetation. Thistle made note of each, marking its position and what traits could be discerned. He then placed them into the charts, occasionally having Bedge make the entries under his watchful eye.

At one point, they saw something very large on the surface of the water. It was difficult to tell scale at the distance, but Thistle later estimated its size at just under a hundred feet long. It was much like a whale, but it had too many fins, and its tail was too long and slender. It dived soon after it appeared.

Finally, just sixteen days after they left Endrok, they sighted a dark mass on the horizon. It soon resolved itself into tall dark cliffs. Trees could be seen above them.

As soon as they were seen, the scouts were called to the captain's quarters. "Well, lads and lass," he said, "It'll be time soon for you to leave the ship. Remember, this is a trading mission. Do what you can to make peaceful contact. Don't try and make negotiations yourselves, I'll be handling that part. Just sound them out to see how open they are to the idea. Hopefully, at least one or two of them will speak draconic. Do you have any questions before we land?"

"Yes, captain," Szazzkur spoke up. He had been considering the matter for some time now during the voyage, and this could very well be his last opportunity to voice his concerns.

"While we should assume by default that the locals are friendly, or at least would be friendly once they have a chance to understand our intentions in venturing here, we must not forget that we know nothing of their culture, their religion, or of their form of goverment. We know nothing, Captain, and for all we know they know nothing of us. We must remember that what we would consider a normal greeting could very well be the highest insult for them, and vice versa.

"The situation could go bad, and very easily," he continued, "and what I would ask, Captain, is what do we do if this venture turns out to be more than we expected?"

Bedge's jaw dropped, and the toothpick he'd been idly gnawing on after cleaning his teeth fell to the floor. "Do you always preface a question with a monolog?," he asked in a good natured way. "I presume what we do is beat a hasty retreat, providing cover for the cap'n or any other official delegates and do our best not to set fire to the place on the way out! From what Mr Thistle and I have seen so far, this place is no small island. If one settlement turns hostile, we make a note and look for another, surely. Anyway, can't you just stock up on some spells to make people happy? Or what about the big guy, surely he'd have something that might soothe a savage beast?"

Goryn frowned at this, not in anger but in thought. After a moment he nodded his head and mumbled in his deep voice, "Yeah... that's a good idea. I can manage that..."

"Um", started Dom, "is there anything colourful on board? like a fabric? Um, the paints we use in the smithee are not all cheap, some come from far away and are very expensive but they make the best and most enduring..."

He started again, his face flushed and his ears radiating.

"I am not suggesting treating them like savages, with cheap stuff and all that, just that anything masterwork is bound to get the attention of the artisans and the merchants and this is what we are after, aren't we?"

Bedge turned to eye the young man as he did a passing impression of a tomato ripening. "The kid's got a point, Cap'n! Have we got any welcome baskets or the like?"

Szazzkur turned Bedge, "I preface a question with a monologue when we have the time and the need for them, Bedge. Preparation and complete understanding of any possible situation we might find ourselves in are paramount to our continued survival. My monologues are something somewhat preferable to our last breaths, I hope you'll agree.

"As for charm spells," he continued, "I do have such a spell in my repertoire, though I have not prepared one for today. In any case, such spells can be more curse than boon, as the person affected would recall what transpired, and it would require simply seeing the casting, being familiar with magic, or even being familiar with someone else who knows spells and their effects to reveal our rather improper way of making friends. I prefer honesty," he said, smiling. "I understand that the method may be unfamiliar to you.

"Furthermore," he continued on before giving Bedge a chance to reply, "we are unfamiliar with the political situation in the country we are entering. For all we know, leaving one angry town would be enough to start a full-scale hunt, possibly on charges of spying. Greeting baskets won't be of use to us at that point."

Corben left everyone to bicker about the politics of it all, he knew his skills lay mainly outside of parlaying with people.

He didn't have any questions, so he kept quiet and waited for the orders to be given out.

Faddenmerith followed Corben's example. He wasn't very good with people, animals and other beings were closer to him. Negotiations had never been his forte, he was far too stubborn and unrelenting to be.

Faddenmerith was pretty happy to leave the others to discuss and decide on this, he was more excited about getting his feet on solid ground again.

I would like to remind ba that it has been two months now. i am impatient and wish to continue my adventure.

"Bedge is right," the captain said. "Be careful, and if you land in the mulch, try to get back to the ship. We'll figure out where to go from there. You're going in blind no matter what. Mr. Telbech has some scrying spells he could use in an emergency, but we don't want 'em finding out we used it on 'em. People can get tetchy if they think you're spying on them. Especially if they're right. Same problem with using spells to make them friendly. As Szazzkur pointed out, that sort of thing gets people nervous about you. We want long term relations with these people, not a one night stand.

"Now, for welcome baskets, that's a good idea. I'm glad I already thought of it. Ms. Calenture prepared this package." The captain took a paper package from his desk. It was about a foot square with a few inches thickness. He handed it to Goryn. "Might be best if you take this. I reckon anyone would think twice about taking it off of you.

"We'll be landing within the hour, provided we can find a good place to set down. Any more questions, or do you want to get ready?"