<Rahdrey> Down at the wharf the mage is standing by the harbor patrol building, discussing some business with another soldier. This is where Julius was instructed to go to gain clearance to sail out, another frustrating protocol that the Ourani require, but they're quite serious on making sure that no khovatallis leaves the city while the Khova family refuses to submit. This means that all outgoing cargo is inspected as well. A right pain in
<Rahdrey> well. A right pain in the ass.
<Julius`> A few days had been spent here in Sinari, cargo had been found. People willing to ship things out of Sinari on a reputable Ignari trader. Of course, he was only reputable as far as he told people, which had been him on his best behaviour, portraying the stable, efficient ship's captain. Of course, right now, Julius was standing there with his second-in-command and his chief of the boat watching the rest of the crew go about the task of loading the
<Julius`> the crew go about the task of loading the small mountain of crates that had been sitting around for them. They still hadn't got permission to leave, but all the cargo that was being loaded right now had been passed. Sending the two men off to work, Julius headed off for the harbour patrol building to go and get the all import little piece of paper to leave. Honestly, why couldn't a man just leave when his ship was done loading.
<Julius`> was done loading.
<Rahdrey> "Well, it's just Arroz up to his usual shit and I'm starting to wonder if he wants to end up in the harbor with iron shoes the way he keeps jer-.. " The sergeant stops talking as the ship captain approaches. Griping about an Ourani officer to a countryman is one thing, but doing it in front of locals or visitors to the city is quite another. "Captain, preparing to leave?" He asks, not recalling the man's name.
<Rahdrey> name.
<Julius`> "Oh, aye. I suspect though I won't be away long. Only taking some cargo a few days north and delivering it to some very hardy folks, or so I've been told to do. I don't ask to many questions, save that my cargo is legal." Won't be away long because he was planning on a lot of fun soon. All the cargo he was loading was stuff he'd bought purely for his little fleet of trouble makers. Mostly very thick and heavy clothes and paid for out the nose.
<Julius`> clothes and paid for out the nose.
* Rahdrey nods, and was about to speak when a nimodo approaches and beckons the mage over. "If you'll excuse me a moment.." He says to Julius, and steps away to speak quietly with the scaled one. The lizard gestures down the wharf, pointing at another smaller vessel coming in to dock that's running Ashetai colors. After some discussion the mage finally returns, "I'm afraid you'll have to wait a bit, Captain. Some business has com
<Rahdrey> Some business has come up."
<Julius`> "Oh, the Ashetai ship? If you're asking them questions, can you ask one for me? I'm a little paranoid before I leave port and want to know if anyone has seen a black flag with green numbering on it." Didn't all captains have their little quirks? A prayer before leaving? A certain drink, or a small individual ritual before pushing off. His was that question.
<Rahdrey> "Do I look like I work for you? Ask them yourself." He says in a derisive tone, then begins walking away with the nimodo soldier falling in next to him. It looks like a scouting ship, certainly not designed to carry a lot of men or cargo. The fact that it's docking with the Ashetai flags is notable, since the Ourani have been claiming all Ashetai ships and recommissioning them for their own fleet.
<Julius`> Huffing at that, Julius followed the two as they went towards the Ashetai ship. Part of the role wasn't it? Ask the most recently arrived captain if he'd seen a black flag with green. This man was arriving, therefore he was the most recent wasn't he? So, off he went. Heck, any of the Flags of Green would be a good sign. None would be a so-so sign. Meant the Invictus was still nice and safe and out of sight.
* Rahdrey doesn't care about the Ignari captain. He mostly just cares about himself. The sergeant walks along the wharf, heading towards the dock that the Ashetai vessel is coasting towards. Other soldiers are gathering as well, curious about the blatant flags whipping in the wind. Even more curious is the wide turn that the ship takes, the angle of approach far too broad and the sails aren't being pulled in at all to slow the boat in
<Rahdrey> to slow the boat in the water. For all intents it looks like the scout is planning to ram directly into one of the larger Ourani vessels docked nearby. One of the nimodo further down the wharf yells something about the speed of the ship and gestures emphatically at the ship. Rahdrey slows, watching. He doesn't know much about sailing, but when he catches on a moment later he swears, changing direction and running for the nearest
<Rahdrey> nearest dock. If he can blast the prow quickly enough with a fireball it should slow the vessel in time.
<Julius`> A ship, acting big and dumb, no crew in the rigging and no orders from the deck being shouted out. Never mind it was going to fast to stop and looked aimed for an Ourani boat had Julius turning and running back down the wharf towards land. His ship was a good run away and in the opposite direction to where this other boat was going, but if he was right, this was going to be bad. Walk up the entire town on its own bad. "Leave her be! LEAVE HER B
<Julius`> "Leave her be! LEAVE HER BE!" he shouted at the Ourani as he ran. Gods damn them if what he suspected might actually happen.
<Rahdrey> "What?! She's going to smash the warship!" The mage doesn't know much about sailing, but he can clearly see that while the scout ship may not be moving at breakneck speeds, it will still hit the Ourani vessel plenty hard enough to do damage. He can focus a fireball at the lower part of the prow where it cuts through the water, and that should stall it's movement. Quite a few Ourani soldiers are stationed on that warship since it's
<Rahdrey> warship since it's easier living quarters until Tinathys sorts out more permanent barracks for all his troops. Now they're scrambling to the railing, watching the scout approach and hurrying to lower some of the rowboats in hopes of cushioning the impact. They'll never get them down fast enough, but the effort and quick thinking is commendable. Sergeant Orson begins chanting, holding the staff up while he casts, the nimodo bac
<Rahdrey> backing off to stand behind him and out of the way.
<Julius`> "Just run!" Julius was thankful to hear the sound of dirt under his boots instead of the sound of wood planking as he ran. He was just trying to get away from the epicentre of what was going to be a huge disaster in a few moments. Heck, if anything, it would make his job much, much easier in the days to come. Two huge crates loomed nearby, both stamped with his ship's name on it. Full crates even. Would it surprise people then that he was running t
<Julius`> people then that he was running towards them to stand behind, grabbing anyone he could to cover.
<Rahdrey> Other soldiers on the docks are yelling for the mage to stop as well, while some are encouraging it. It's a mix. It seems to be the more seasoned sailors calling for the halt. Rahdrey isn't the only mage, either. There's another further down the wharf casting as well, the fire being summoned a bright beacon against the dark night sky. The sergeant finishes his spell first, a higher ranking officer joining him and encouraging him to
<Rahdrey> and encouraging him to hurry so he'll loose the attack as soon as he considers it big enough to do the job. The fireball soars across the water and smashes into the wooden hull, break a large hole into prow. There's a moment of supreme victory for the mage when he sees his handiwork, and then before he can revel in it there's a massive explosion as the scout ship's packed cargo of greek fire, oil, and anything else flammable t
<Rahdrey> that could be scraped together wildly combusts.
<Julius`> With the shockwave of the explosion, Julius was pulling those he had saved behind the crate, keeping them behind it as a few splinters went past. Nothing major mind you, or dense, but perhaps one or two that could have hurt should someone had been in the way. There was a mutter of thanks from a soldier before he went running out of cover towards the nightmare. As for Julius, he was only just starting to look out from behind the crate. Fireships! Fi
<Julius`> out from behind the crate. Fireships! Fire-damn-ships. Thank the gods the Sargasso was much further down the dock.
<Rahdrey> Greek fire by itself might not have exploded so conveniently, but when mixed with a magical blast that was -designed- to blow a hole in the hull it had a most wonderful explosion for those rooting for Ashetai. Rahdrey is thrown back into the nimodo behind him, whose bulkier frame barely manages to keep them both from toppling into the deathly cold water. Fire flies everywhere, a glowing shower that spreads all over the warship, nea
<Rahdrey> over the warship, nearby docks, and the harbor itself. An Ourani ship captain is screaming bloody murder at the mage, while chaos erupts around the warship as fire lights the harbor.
<Julius`> As all the Ourani around him started running towards the nightmare mess, leaving him to his own devices, Julius was screaming down the harbour at the men of his ship who where running his way. The two crates meant for the Sargasso couldn't be taken, not now. It would take to damn long to get them down to the ship, to load them, and then leave. Not with the fire spreading across the water as it was. So, he was looking around for a torch and lighting
<Julius`> for a torch and lighting it fast from a light nearby. The torch burning, his crates where now touched with it, held till they where burning as well, then as he ran towards the Sargasso, anything flammable, ropes, sails, crates, all where touched, the whole torch finally thrown into a pile of boxes with the Ourani seal on it as he ran down to the gangplank of his own ship, the men already throwing off ropes, the ship drifting from the docks. Yes, he
<Julius`> drifting from the docks. Yes, he'd engaged in a spot of arson, but hey, it would cause more trouble wouldn't it and with a dock-wide fire, who would try and stop an Ignari merchant ship from slipping out of harbour?
<Rahdrey> The Sargasso isn't the only ship racing to escape the harbor fire. Other Ignari captains and Ourani alike are rushing to unfurl sails and urge their vessels away from the spreading flame to safety. There's a good norwesterly wind tonight, a blessing and a curse when fire is involved. Rahdrey regains his balance, still staring in shock at the vast unexpected destruction of the small scout ship. Flames are creeping across the water t
<Rahdrey> creeping across the water towards the dock, and the nimodo will grab the mage by the arm to pull him away from his horrid facination. Another officer is rushing up and yelling at him to do something, but his specialty is creating fire, not putting it out and he shakes his head helplessly. The scout wreckage drifts the remaining distance to bathe the warship, the hull becoming coated in the burning oil.
* Daern has joined #Sinari_Town
<Julius`> Burning ships, burning cargo, burning docks, burning people. The Sargasso would put her reputation to the test, edging out other ships for the entrance to the Sinari harbour. Oh, there was words shouted out from the back of the Sargasso as Julius got up there beside his wheelman, yelling at other Ignari captains, demanding an answer to his question, had anyone see a Flag of Green in the area. Others where yelling back 'Why the hell should we care!
<Julius`> back 'Why the hell should we care! Fire mate! FIRE!' or other insults, more caring for getting away from the fire then answering a question. Of course, those that cursed him where cursed with the hope of a visit from the Green, which of course could be arranged. Oh poor Mr Rahdrey, if only he'd listened to Julius' warning. Then at least he could have collected on a fair amount of departure tax.
* Rahdrey is a mage, not a sailor. He helped burn other ships on the day the Ourani came to Sinari and took the harbor, and nothing like -that- happened. It never occurred to him! "I can't! I don't have anything to stop oil that's burning!" He yells back at the officer, eyes still drawn to the burning debris and slick on the water's surface. Some of the wooden posts of the docks are beginning to catch, and some ships will never mak
<Rahdrey> ships will never make it out of the way in time. Some don't even have enough crew to muster, the sailors on shore leave inside the city.
<Julius`> And away it was, the Sargasso leading the fleet in exodus from the fire. Sure, some would return in the morning with the fire gone, to pick up their crews and cargo if they could, others simply because Sinari was closer then any other port with few numbers. For other crews the fire was all they needed to depart early. And once out of the harbour, the Sargasso would hoist her Ignari flag, proclaiming it as a ship under the ownership of some lord or
<Julius`> ownership of some lord or another and be away, gone, outstripping the other ships soon enough. See! Fastest ships in the waters. Oh well, so much for a burning harbour eh? How many dead? How much cargo lost? How many ships sunk? All it did was make things that much better for Julius later on.
<Rahdrey> Morning will determine how bad the destruction is.. It's a long night on the wharf.
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