Jal was surprised to see the lute player return with an easily recognizable captain's hat. Jal hadn't ever given the man a great deal of attention, though he had often seen him at the tavern. He wondered if maybe he should have. The man had also returned armed, an even better sign.<br/><br/><span style="color: YellowGreen">Right. Well, not a moment to waste then.</span>Jal stuff the map back in his loose shirt and stood. As he and the group filed out of the bar, the patrons went deathly silent. There were no jeers that followed them out, and the looks Jal received were no longer ones of contempt or mild neglect. Jal's sudden acquisition of a "crew" that not only consisted of the two elves, but also a Qunari and the man many of them knew to be the owner of the tavern left them wondering if it wouldn't have been wiser to treat the man with more respect.<br/><br/>As they traveled back toward the boat, Jal felt a knot in his stomach as the weight of the situation suddenly hit him. He now had four able bodied adventurers looking to him to guide them to unfathomable riches. Gods, what if he was wrong? What if the map wasn't real? What if they followed it right to those cliffs and there was no cave, no gold. Jal didn't like the idea, and the sudden storm of doubt became regret and fear.<i>No</i>, he told himself,<i>I started this, I will see it to its end, no matter what that end is</i>.<br/><br/>The crew of the small ship had just finished loading the last of the three crates when the group arrived. Curious stares met them as eyes caught on Diego's tattoos and piercings. They lingered longer on Atashi, though. Kossick women were rare outside the walls of Qunari cities, even in Rivain. The strength of the body beneath the cloak kept their attention as well, though no one dared feel anything but fear of the woman. She looked capable of crushing their heads with her bare thighs. Not a poor way to go, to be sure, but the men on the ship weren't looking to die anytime soon.<br/><br/><span style="color: YellowGreen">Be ready to depart!</span>Jal shouted as he marched up the gangplank.<span style="color: YellowGreen">We intend to be rich before the week is through, so lets see it done!</span>The crew liked the sound of that and cheered, reinvigorated by the prospect of actually setting off on the promised "expedition." Reshad, though, kept silent. He just watched Jal and the others, curious and cautious. Still, when Jal gave the order to begin to cast off, he set to work with the others.<br/><br/>Jal took a brief moment to show the group the ship. It was small enough that it only had three decks and a tiny captain's cabin below the quarter deck. The hold of the ship was empty save for the three crates of supplies that now occupied it, and the crew deck above was cramped, Jal could barely standup straight on the crew deck, its ceiling was so low. There were six hammocks hanging from mountings in the deck supports, but Jal assured the four new members that he would have the crew mount more for them.<br/><br/>Jal emerged from below to see the gangplank being withdrawn and the ship untied from harbor. The crew found themselves well motivated when the promise of gold was in front of them. Jal called commands and hopped up the shallow stairs to quarter deck and placed himself at the ship's wheel. The sails were drawn and the ship lazily slid out of port and onto the open sea and began to gather speed as a gust caught the sail and began propelling the ship onward. Jal steered her south to follow the coast to what he hoped to be the single greatest achievement of his life.<br/><br/>As the ship passed from port, the sailors began to settle down and fall into the routine of patience that occupied most of their time. Gambling with dice was a favorite, but mentally undressing Luna and Aure quickly found favor, as did whistling at them and winking as they passed. A number of them watched Atashi with the curiosity continued from when she had boarded. Whispered debate arose between three of them as to what she looked like naked. The moment she looked in their general direction, though, they immediately silenced and busied themselves with something nearby.<br/><br/>Reshad, though, was quiet. He watched the proceedings carefully, measuring each person. His cool stare lingered on Diego for a time. He looked familiar and was dressed well, too well, in fact. It didn't take but a moment watching to see how comfortable he was on a ship. He adjusted to the swaying and bobbing of the boat like he had been doing so from birth. And between the hat and the sword at his waist, Reshad had begun to formulate an idea of who he was.  Reshad made a mental note to speak with this "Diego" once they had been underway a while.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>