Barbara
"Tch... Still no work, eh?"

A frustrated grunt sounded from the male's lips as he looked over the bounty board. A rather empty bounty board, at that. He was a bounty hunter by trade, and there were few things in this world that hurt more than seeing no open contracts. He wasn't particularly desperate for silver at the moment; his pockets were lined well enough for the time being anyways. But... More never hurt anybody, right?

His hand slipped into the holster on his left leg, idly playing with the dagger held within. So *Boring.* He needs a contract soon, lest he go and incite a riot in the tavern for the fun of it.
David
*Upon a closer look at the bounty board, it seems there were one or two good posting amongst the metaphorical garbage that lined the board. One of them didn't have any exact pay listed, or a large bounty on it, and is easy to miss on a first or second pass.*

"Northern Chieftain seeking mercenaries to journey north and defeat elven raiders. Pay: Twenty silver or more per day, plus looting right. See Mister Zerkim inside. Will arrange transportation to. Transportation back must be self-arranged - Will provide help."

*Inside the town hall was a conveniently seated Qua, waiting for new adventurers to send off to the north.*

*Of course, no one exactly know what Mister Zerkim look like, so if the bounty hunter needed help, perhaps he could ask one of the few idling guard snacking in the courtyard.*
Barbara
"...Hm?"

Well, isn't that a pretty little thing? His free hand went to run along the aforementioned bounty posting, and he could feel the corners of his lips tug into a toothy smirk. Well... The pay was certainly questionable. Silver's silver, though, and considering looting is fair game, this should be something he can't pass up. Very well then!

With a chuckle, the bounty hunter snatched the posting from the board, folding the paper up and into his satchel. Alrighty, first things first: finding this Mister Zerkim character. He sauntered over to the one of the guards on duty. Turn on the charm, nice and easy now!

"Ahem. Pardon me, my good man. 'm currently looking around for a Mister Zerkim around 'ere. You wouldn't be willing to point me in his direction now, would ya?"
David
The paper, once torn off, turned out to be surprisingly fragile, as several tears appeared before it was folded up. Can't people make bounty posting with good quality paper nowaday?

The guard was a normal looking Macen male, though he looked a bit thin for the job - Not that a town garrison always get to choose from the best man. He took out a hankerchief and wiped his face, and then pointed at the door.

"He is one of the two bugman in there, big brown antenna, cannot be missed. Sits near front desk all day."
Barbara
...Well darn. Can't be that hard to get quality bounty paper, right? Whatever, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.

"Ah, right. Thanks for the tip, bruv. Good day to ya!"

He gave the guard a mock salute, though there was a bit of genuine respect for his fellow man in the action. Now then, to work! The man slipped through the door, eyes scanning the area until they rested on his intended target.

Yup, big brown antenna. Qua... No. Best not to let biases get in the way here. He's here for the promise of coin, nothing more and nothing less. Putting on a winning grin for the seated Qua, he made his approach.

"Mister Zerkim, I presume?"
David
"Bruv?" The guard replied, in apparent confusion at what this strange, new, foreign word meant. The guard nodded awkwardly back at the mercenary when he saluted.

The Qua turned toward the mercenary and "Smiled", though the gesture is barely recognizable due to his not-so-humanoid face. His antenna seems to be clicking quite happily, however.

"Yes yes, I Mister Zerkim. You looking for good work? I have good work, many fighting up north, me ship you north, you do fighting, you get silver, yes?"
Barbara
Strange... Definitely an accurate way to describe his speech patterns. Shows he's not from around here, at the very least.

Despite the butchered sentence fragments making him slightly cringe, at least the Qua knows when to get down to business. The bounty hunter nodded in compliance, jerking a thumb to his chest with pride.

"Correct. Milo Ribssi, at your service, mate. You have my word this job'll get handled right quick. Of course, I do have to ask, is this a solo job? Or am I going to have some... Companions?"

More like leeches. The more people that take this quest, the less silver he earns by splitting the profits. Of course, they could prove to be effective meatshields... But this isn't his job, isn't it?
David
Indeed, the Qua was not very good at the common language. After all, one does not have much need for it up north, in the wild west of Drase.

"Milo Ribssi, yes. I pay twenty silver per day, maybe thirty if you very good. I ship you up north, and you get looting right. But of course, we need making of money for operations, so we take a bit of charge from loot you sell, perhaps one-tenth. Fair?"

The Qua pondered a bit about his question,"Yes, we have many other we hire for this. But we ship you up north and it up to you to group with people. We want you to go with our tribesman, and maybe other adventurer."

"Pointy Elf slavers always come together, you never fight alone, else you sold in market. Kins pirates all over the sea, too."
Barbara
So it's almost a requirement to have to group up with someone. Dammit... Ah well. Maybe a bit of haggling might convince Milo's companion to agree to a 70/30 split. Either way, that's best saved for when the journey begins.

He gave a understanding nod to Zerkim, and a hand went to his chin as he began to ponder the intricacies of the assignment.

"Very well. Are we to be departin' immediately, Mister Zerkim?"
David
"You may, I see and recruit many people here, but ships always run. I arrange you free ticket to northern town - Free city where they say neutral, and we house many mercenaries."

*He produced a stamped piece of paper from his pocket and pointed at a group of rag-tag adventurers gathered outside. Most of them look a bit inexperienced.*

"You follow them, they taking ship to north. I tell ship master to pay you one hundred silver after we arrive, then we start paying you for each day you actually fighting. Is fair deal, yes?"

*The piece of stamped paper seems to be a ship ticket, or perhaps a promise to take you up north.*

*Hmm... One could not help but wonder if they'd run into pirate on the way.*
Barbara
Pirates were an ever present problem, it seems. After all, they practically owned the seas, so it was fair to assume that the possibility was there. But no risk, no reward as they always say! Milo grabbed the ticket and held it in between his fingers, letting it slip through then before pocketing the paper.

Details were procured, payment has been discussed, and now the fun can begin! His grin returning in full force, Milo bowed to the Qua with a flourish and a chuckle. To the door!

"A fair deal indeed, mate. I look forward to workin' with you. Until we meet again, yeah?"
David
"Until we meet again, yes." *The Qua answered and nodded, letting him leave without any issue. Right after that, another adventurer walked in to talk with him. It seems they are hiring quite a lot of people.*

*The leader of the group outside was also a Qua, but well armed, with a pair of spears on his back, a sword, and a kite shield hanging on his side. He was armoured in half-plate too.*

"Hello, Zerkim send you with me. We take ship at the dock, come with like the rest of you."

*He turned around quickly and starting leading them away. They'd eventually arrive in front of a large carrack at the dock, with a human captain. It seems they have chartered a ship for this journey. Unsurprising, as northern tribe are not known for shipbuilding skills.*
Barbara
Quite a wide variety of mercenaries we have here, eh? A whole smorgasbord of adventurers wanting to make a name for themselves, get payed and revel in glory. Quite frankly, it was a bit much... But the focus is on the coin right now. Only the coin.

Giving a silent nod to the Qua leading them, he stepped in line and began to meander forth. The ship caught his eye almost immediately, and he gave a low whistle upon spotting it. Praise be that this was crafted by human hands; lord knows what could happen if that weren't the case!

"*What a beaut...*"
David
*The crewmember lowered a boarding plank and the adventurers started to board the ship. They were assigned into mostly meagre, but decent bunks, better than some of the rank-and-file crewmember for sure. The ship was armed with two springald on the top deck, with magical projectiles laying down by the side - heavily armed by normal ship standard, though like most ships in Drase, it relies a lot on boarding action..*

"Comon aboard, quick." *The Qua said. Milo could probably go onboard, take a decent bunk, and have an uneventful journey up north. After all, the fellow adventurers don't seem too talkative...*

*Unless... They encounter pirates?*
Barbara
"Right right, keep your antennas on bruv..."

Somewhat failing to mask the annoyance in his tone, Milo swiftly boarded the vessel and made his way to his quarters. They don't wanna talk? Fine! Not like he needs the company anyways, only in it for the silver. Seeing as how there's no one in the mood to chat, the bounty hunter found a bunk, claimed it as his own and allowed sleep to claim him for the time being.

Sooner they get there, the better...
David
*Like nearly all ships of the time, the ship mostly hugged the coastline as it sailed east along Salvainia's coast, stopping at the last Salvainian port to take in some fresh fruits and produces. After that, it turned straight north into the open ocean, avoiding border with hostile border states.

The first three days of ocean sailing were very smooth, with nothing happening at all. The ship was sailing quite quickly, thanks to the strong wind of early autumn, and a proto-storm building up in the area.*

**Early in the morning, roughly 6:00 AM.**

*While most of the adventurers were asleep, or having very early breakfast, suddenly, a bell started to ring loudly on the ship. Someone could be heard yelling outside, but the cabin muffled the voice completely. Soon, other adventurers would start to relay the message.*

"SHIP SIGHTED! SHIP SIGHTED! SHIP SIGHTED!"
Barbara
*Thunk!*

"Ai! Bloody hell, what the... A ship?"

The ringing of the bell, coupled with the sudden shouting, made Milo jolt out of his bunk and onto the floor. Niiiice. He quickly recovered though, seeing as how there was apparently no time to lose. He slung his satchel over his back, grab the remaining equipment of his and dashed out of the bunks posthaste.

Now on the deck, he took in the scene. Adventurers running to and fro, preparing for the inevitable as the other ship began its approach. Right, stay calm... Don't panic. First off, let's find the captain.
David
*The other bunks in his room were empty, and some of the chests used to store equipments were haphazardly opened, with some of its contents scattered all over. Clearly, everyone else has been equipping themselves in the hurry.

The Captain seems to be shouting commands from the wheel. Over to the side was a smaller carrack with a lower fore and aft castle, built much like a "Razee" Frigate of later time in our world. It was catching up to the ship from behind, and its upper deck seems to be overcrowded with armed Qua. The ship is roughly eight hundred meters away to the side, with its bow facing the transport and would close in fifteen minutes... This will be a tense wait. It is directly approaching with the wind behind.*

"Arm yourself! We've got pirate!" The Captain shouted the (somewhat) obvious. 

Four well-armoured crewmember walked over to the springalds, and evacuated everyone else from it. They started to twist the machine, and then loaded bolts onto them. When a large wave crashed into the ship, turning the deck upward, the crewmember let out one bolt.*

"SHORT!" *Another crew yelled out as it missed. The other springald adjusted. It missed, too.*

"SHORT!"
Barbara
"For the luv 'a... Couldn't have a nice, quiet voyage to our destination now, couldn't we?"

Now isn't the time for sarcasm, it's the one for action! Milo reached back and unsheathed his lance from its holster. He used it to hoist himself off the upper deck and towards the lower ground. His eyes scanned the ship approaching their rear. Damn, not much time... He looked to the wheel in desperation.

"Cap'n! Any way we can lose these bastards in the storm?!"
David
*The Captain took a while before he responded, being too busy moving the ship to shoot at the other one.*

"Nay! Too fast! It's got more sails and less castle than us!" 

*When the boarding action do happen, however, the transport would have the high ground. But the other ship seems to be packed full of pirates. Overcrewed at a high speed, operating from coastal base - typical pirate modus operandi.*

*The springald let out another volley, and as expected, it missed. It seems it would have plenty of chance to shoot until the other ship approach, however.* 

"Grab ye self a crossbow or something from the armoury! Maybe a shield too, better than nothing!* 

*Like all carracks, this transport has a prominent aft and fore castle, and some adventurers are already setting up shooting position for the inevitable boarding.*
Barbara
Yeah, yeah that works. Anything to help make sure they don't get absolutely *Slaughtered* By these pirates. Throwing the captain a thumbs-up, Milo sheathed his lance and made a beeline for the armory. Not much time left before they start coming aboard!

He careened into the bowels of the ship until the armory was in sight, deft hands going to search through the area. A crossbow and shield, obviously, but what else can we find down here?
David
*There was a few munition-grade goat's foot lever crossbow laying around, along with bolts of appropriate weight and size for the crossbow. Laying around were also almain rivet armour. The armour seems to be cheaply made, but of decent quality, and is stamped with the flag on the ship.

The armour won't fit exactly well on Milos, but would protect his upper frontal thigh, arm and torso from any attack.

There were also skullcap laying around. But anything's better than nothing.

Kite shields and heater shields were all over the place, there were several more immobile pavise, suitable as a platform to shoot from behind, but not as a combat shield*
Barbara
Hmmm... For starters, Milo will only take the torso armor. He prefers to be kept lightweight anyways, so the rest of the armor would just slow him down.

Next, the shield. He went for one of the kite shields, once more for keeping himself as light as possible. Defense and speed is always a plus. Finally, he took up one of the crossbows and filled his satchel with however many bolts he could at the moment.

That should suffice! For now, he dashed back up to the deck of the ship and peered out. What's the situation?
David
*The other ship seems to have approached very closely after the armoury trip, which presumably took most of the 15 minutes he had.

Now the ship was somewhat close, at 250 meters away, and some projectiles were already being exchanged, with a strong archer or two shooting at the ship and missing most of their shots, and two adventurers on the transport doing likewise. Everyone on the deck is now behind some sort of cover, and one could hear the Qua on the pirate ship banging their weapons against their shields now.*

*The springald let out another volley, and this time, one of the shot hit, sending a bursting cloud of flame into the enemy ship, which was quickly put out, but not before burning two of their rank severely.*