Allebasi giggles at Anna's remark.
"I like that one. She reminds me of myself," Allebasi says as she rises gracefully. She turns to meet Renlow's raised eybrow and crossed arms, and sighs.
"Always business with you, Phineas," she says, her pout returning.
"Never any fun. It's sad, really. I can be ever so entertaining." She runs her lithe finger down the length of the dwarf's nose. He smiles and chuckles.
"Have I gone and bored you already?" It's Renlow's turn at playing coy, it seems. Allebasi laughs.
"No, no, my lovely little anomaly, you continue to fascinate me as much as you frustrate," she says, then straightens up, finally giving up on her flirtations.
"Give me a moment to clear the way, will you?"
With that, Allebasi drops off the deck and into the water with the barest splash. The party sees nothing for a few moments, until the waters at the blockage of the tributary begin to swell, eventually forcing the debris out of the way. It's an impressive display of power, and while Nevil 'oohs' over it, Renlow seems unphazed. He pulls up the anchor and orders Nevil to steer the ship into the now-open waterway.
The tributary lies under thick layers of tall trees, with quickly-deepening forests on either side. Still, there's enough room for the barge and its mast, and the half-hour's travel passes quietly; it's clear from his expression that Renlow is too focused to answer any questions at the moment looking straight ahead from his place at the head of the ship.
Finally, he raises his hand. Nevil rushes about to trim the sails and the captain weighs anchor, though there's no gate you can see. Allebasi only becomes visible when she steps out of the water and walks up onto the shore.
"You'll be sure to stay longer when you've not such pressing business, my dear? Maybe I can even play with your little crewman?" the water-dwelling woman asks.
Captain Renlow chuckles.
"We'll see, Allie. I do need him to help run the ship, after all."
Allebasi shrugs.
"Always assuming I break my toys, Phineas. Such a faithless friend some days," she says, though she gives a playful 'tsk' and a wink. Then she raises her hands in the air and begins chanting in an indescipherable tongue.
"All right, folks, find something to hold tight to. This part can get bumpy!"
Sure enough, the water of the river begins to glow and churn, and it becomes obvious why it is you could see no gate: This one rests below the surface of the water. There's only a few more moments to heed Renlow's warning before the water below you suddenly drops away, and the ship with it. You get the briefest glimps of ancient cracked stone covered in glowing runes, and then you've fallen through the portal the gate has created. Light and sounds streak all around, a disorienting display which, along with the sensation of falling at a breakneck speed, seem as if it might never end.
But then, with a sudden woosh of air and a jolting stop, the world returns. The very wet world, as the massive splash of water from the ship landing drenches you all. The Downpour pitches horribly on the water where it has landed, but Renlow and Nevil--perhaps used to these sorts of magical transitions--quickly bring her back to an even keel. Gone is the dense wood and the small tributary, and in its place is the wide rushing water of the Ouhm.
"Now then, that's better, eh?" Renlow says, settling back on the wheel as Nevil adjusts the sails for the new wind and current.
"Sorry about my friend back there. I keep telling Allie I'm immune to her charms, but I suspect she'll keep trying till the end of both our days.
"In any case, I'm hoping you folk don't mind one last push? If we keep on through night, we can make Martna before daybreak. To be honest, now that we're here, I'd rather keep moving. Word has it the halflings have been indulging in far more piracy of late, and a moored boat outside the protection of a city's port is just begging for boarding."
| GM: | apologies this and the previous post were so long. Got a bit engrossed in my own narrative tangent...  |
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