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[Skyrunner]

The score is written in Auran. Anyone know Auran? :3

[SeriousConcentrate]

(Toman does, actually. ^^^ He knows Abyssal, Auran, Celestial, Common, Draconic, and Infernal.)

[Skyrunner]

Mm... Yay? O_o


There was a line of text written in the squiggly lines of Auran under the Common title. 'Composed•Enchanted by A Ticharam"


The rest of the lyrics were a strange mix of Auran, (what Toman guessed to be) archaic Common, and regular Common. He could read a couple of words here and there: thousand, crumble, leaf, return, endure, crystalline, rip, razor, promise.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Toman frowned. "I can make out a few words here and there. See this one?" He translated what he knew to Tali. "I think we need to find out what we can about this A Ticharam person. Or thing, possibly."

[The Fool]

"See you in the morning." Luke turned to the head to the bar to ask the barkeep about navigators. Tabbytha followed after Luke and jumped up to Luke's shoulders in a swift leap.

Her tone was harsh and angry. "|You're hiring that horrible lady too? This is going to be terrible if she doesn't realize that I'm sentient, and not one of those common babbling strays that line the streets.|"

"|We'll have to deal with it later. We need a captain if we want the ship to move an inch. Who he picks for his crew is his business. We just give the orders.|" Luke sat down on a barstool and looked towards the barkeep from across the counter. "I'll have some fish and chips with a glass of fish wine, whatever that is. So, barkeep do you know of any navigators looking for work?"

[Dwarmin]

Tali rubbed her chin.

"Well, you know I could go to ground and find a name of anyone that passed through or did business in this town. Someone had to pay to have the scroll delivered, maybe. I'll check me contacts in town.

You should also ask Raes sister to see if she can scry up something with the scroll. Might get lucky."

Tali nodded, and left the bar to search the town for rumors of "A. Ticharam"...

[Skyrunner]

@Fool

The bartender glanced up and returned to his wiping.
"Well, this being a small port and all, there are not that many empty hands. You could go over to the marine school and hire a freshly educated lad, or maybe you could go to the port authority and ask around. Navigators think themselves superior to them regular sailors and don't mingle often. Of course, navigators that are already hired come here with their friends a lot."

@ Dwarmin

After a couple hour's asking, you find out ... nothing. Actually, you do find a mention of Ticharam. On a gravestone. Dated 522 years ago. The person is named Caroline Ticharam, and the gravestone simply states she lived roughly 40 years and died peacefully at the hands of Death. The descendants are listed... and strangely none have the last name of Ticharam.

[The Fool]

Luke was glad that the barkeep didn't take his food order seriously, because he wasn't hungry and probably wouldn't have eaten his food when it came. He stood up and thanked the barkeep for the information, and left wondering exactly what fish wine was. He walked back to the port authority to look for a navigator, hopefully my choice of captain doesn't get in the way, otherwise I'll have to stick to recent graduates. After a few minutes of walking he found himself outside the port authority again and walked in the door. He walked up to the desk and Tabbytha hopped up to greet the clerk sitting in his chair. Luke shrugged slightly, a bit disappointed to run in circles, but at least he was here for another reason. "I'm back. I found a captain, but now I'm looking for a navigator to round out the crew. Any ideas?"

[Skyrunner]

@Fool

The clerk was yawning just when Luke came in.

"Here again? That was fast. Wait - do you even have a ship?"
He shook his head and said, "Sorry, none of my business. Erm... navigator? Have you tried the marine school? I'm sure there should be a lot of good candidates. If you want someone with experience... well, I think there are three or so people without work right now. Let's see..."
The clerk shifted some paper and extracted a crackled list.
"Number 1, a man named Scion, age thirty three, five years of navigator behind him. Apparently from Ula. He's currently at the Fish Wine Tavern, second floor, third room. Number 2 is named Dubale, age forty, fifteen years of experience. From Noire. This guy is at the Red Shield and Cross inn. Ask at desk. Third person, Luynas, lich elf, from Hatred Island. Is 498 years old, not counting his mortal days. Claims he had nothing better to do and maxed out Profession(navigating). He's taken refuge in the shrine of Nerull just outside the city. Finally, we have Satuet, born in The Continent. Elf. He's a factotum and a navigator and is about 53. You can find him in the Red Cross and Shield Inn. "

The clerk handed the sheet of paper to Luke.

[Dwarmin]

Tali met back with Toman a few hours passed. She seemed a bit out of sorts-her pockets noticeably lighter from following dead end leads, and a bit of dark brown grave dirt clung to her boots and fingernails.

"...all right. I found someone by the name of Caroline Ticharam, dead around 500 years or abouts. Died a a nice age for a human, peaceful in her sleep, if the gravestone don't lie.

She's got descendants, but none of them carry the name Ticharam either.

So, from what I gather, this thing the lady saw was the spirit of this Caroline-and she's back for a reason, or maybe it's just something pretending to be her. It's odd-died nice, buried well (not that I did any digging). She should be at rest. Not that anythings 'for sure' anymore.

Question. Where did the bard get the score? Did ye ask him?""

[Skyrunner]

@Dwarmin

The bard himself answered.

"Well... I got the scroll in a flooded ship ruin thing with my party."

He pointed at the tied-up mage.

"She was there too. Also... if she's named Caroline, why would the scroll say 'A' Ticharam?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

Toman shrugged. "We'll find out. Can you tell us where this ruin was?" Meanwhile, Rae was still tending to Sarah's injuries, having learned a lot of the healing craft while she was gone so as not to repeat the mistake she made with the human prisoner awhile back.

[The Fool]

Looking over the list, Luke knew that his options were limited. Scion seemed like the only candidate that would work. Dubale was far too experienced, and already working for a successful company. Luynas was an undead, meaning that if he even saw the bastard he would be tempted to put a few bolts into his face, so no, not picking that one. Lastly there was Satuet, who was technically still a child since elves only mature after a good hundred years. How Satuet even became a navigator at such an age is a mystery to Luke.

Seeing only one option besides the academy he made his way back to the Fish Wine Tavern. It was starting to become more effort than it was worth to find a navigator with experience. With the way things were going he wouldn't be surprised if Scion knew who Joshua was and outright refused to take the job. Still it was worth a shot. He walked back into the same old bar, but this time he headed straight for Scion's room. He knocked on the door and called to the other side. "I'm looking for a navigator, do you have a minute?"

[Dwarmin]

Tali shrugged as well.

"Well, if she had any relatives, they weren't buried beside her.

It's possible she was working under a pseudonym, or something like that. Would make sense why none of her ancestors carry the name, either. Odd of her to put in on the grave, though...

Odd all around.

Well, count me in fer some delving Toman. Maybe we'll get a little money from it in the end, after all.

"

[Skyrunner]

@SerCon, Dwarmin

"The ruins were cleared out by us... Still, if you want to go, follow me."

The bard lead the way out of the tavern. He headed towards a small rowboat beached and pushed off into the bay. He told Toman to row.

After about fifteen minutes of gliding across the bay, the bard told Toman to stop. "We have to dive now. I hope you can hold your breath for a minute or so..."

----

The ship ruins themselves were not flooded. The interior was water-tight even after a couple hundred years. Magic.
The ship itself was huge. Much larger than even the grandest ships that sail the sea today. It also did not have any masts. The bodies of killed aquatic monsters were strewn across the deck. At the very end was a small ornate chest open. It was empty but for a scrap of paper. It read

 IF YOU CAN READ THIS, YOU NO DOUBT HAVE PLAYED THE SCORE AND SURVIVED. IF YOU ARE ARNIM, I HOPE YOU ARE KILLED SHORTLY. IF NOT, I WOULD NOT WISH TO BE YOU. AT LEAST KNOW THAT YOUR KILLER WAS ANAROSE TICHARAM, AND THAT YOU WILL PROBABLY NOT LIVE THROUGH THIS ONE. PHANTASMAL KILLERS ARE FOR WEAKLINGS.

, in Infernal.

... A slow humming started reverberating through the ship decks.


@Fool

"Oh, hi". A man with dark brown hair, messy and tangled, opened the door cautiously.
"Work? Hmm. That would be nice." He opened the door the rest of the way and gestured for Luke to enter.