A search for service

Corsair Docks

As you stand at the military docks you are awed at the fearsome power displayed before you. The hulls of over a hundred vessels glint in the sunlight ranging from War Galleys to War Raiders to Patrol Boats and even an occasional War Catamaran. Capping the scene, a huge Dunedain Palanrist from ancient days sits dry-docked just above the docks. To the east, nestled securely into Castamir Point, stands the fortress that is the Fleet Headquarters.

The sky is clear and the sunlight shines brightly. The early afternoon summer air is very hot and dry around you.

Contents:

The Nimrizan(#22885VXae)

The Kashmira

The Variyah

The Beruthiel\'s Cat(#30467OVaeM)

The Saqrwa\'il

The Desert Arkhos

The Klejona

The Arvada

The Nalozil

The Staghound

Obvious exits:

Bay leads to Bay of Umbar.

East leads to Fleet Headquarters: Inner Courtyard.

West leads to Ar-Pharazon\'s Isle.

[+TIME] Middle-earth time is:

Early Afternoon on Trewsday, Day 10 of July.

Execute the +TIMEFRAME command for year information.

Real time is: 18:36:03 MDT on Thu Mar 26 2009.

IC year: 3046

[Su\'ad(#20109)]

The early afternoon normally would be pretty relaxed on the Corsair docks, as the majority of the day\'s chores would be finished or winding down. But today...this Trewsday...it is alive with activity...almost fevered, even. Corsairs from the Saqrwa\'il, and some of the other ships that came from the Gimlizain climb the ships top to bottom, and seem to be unloading weapons of war and weapons of seige. It is somewhat of a chaotic madhouse. And in the midst of it all stands Su\'ad, overseeing the whole mess.

A single figure wends its slow way through the comings and goings at the docks, pausing to ask a question there. Plainly clad, and with a keffyeh draped on his head and pulled over nose and mouth, there is nothing of particular note about him. He is not tall enough to stand out in the crowd, though his broad shoulders allow him easy passage between the crate-bearers. When a fellow carrying some sort of wooden beam answer him with a jerk of the head, he alters his course until he is standing in front of Su\'ad herself.

\"You are the Captain Su\'ad?\" The words are slow, measured and slightly nasal. Topaz-hued eyes watch the scene calmly, revealing little of the man\'s thoughts.

[Su\'ad(#20109)]

Su\'ad points to a couple of men carrying a box. \"Get those on a wagon, and the balliste as well!\" she calls, then turns to look at the person who comes to address her. She gives him a quick look up and down, then does a double-take at his eyes, her own eyes narrowing with distrust. \"Yes?

The petitioner neatly sidesteps the two men and their box, letting them pass without even a glance. To the sharp query he responds mildly, \"I look for work. A place on a ship. Your man Yussef ibn Yussef said I might find this from Su\'ad.\" The clipped phrases are carefully measured, as though the speaker must consider each word.

[Su\'ad(#20109)]

Su\'ad gives the man a long look. \"Let me see your face,\" she says, leaning to one side to avoid a passing box carried on a man\'s shoulder. \"And what is your name, and where are you from?\"

At that request - or is it an order? - the man\'s eyes narrow. \"The most powerful man in Umbar does not show his face. Why should others?\" There is a long silence, then he lifts a hand to the keffiyeh. \"My name is Barjad. And I am- I was-\" The furrowed brows suggest that the man is searching for words. \"I was in the south,\" he eventually settles on. \"I did work there. No more.\"

Then he pulls the shrouding corner of keffiyeh away to reveal his features. The ugly scar that stretches diagonally from eye to chin might be reason enough in itself for the covering also, though, his skin is paler than that of many in Umbar, though far short of Gondorian pallor. Nor is there a hint of nobility about his features. Some paleskin-slave blood somewhere back in his ancestry, maybe?

[Su\'ad(#20109)]

Su\'ad\'s visage is unsmiling, and at the cheek of the man who stands before her, quickly turning dark. But as he reveals his face, she tries to read it like it was some sort of lineage map. Whatever she thinks she sees in his face, she does not comment on. \"The most powerful man in Umbar showed his face to /me/. Why should you...descendant of a slave...be any different?\" she retorts. \"And you come here wishing for a place on a ship.\" She looks at the Saqrwa\'il then back at the man. \"Yussef recommended you?\" She still just looks, seemingly at war with her sensibilities. \"I will have to ask him.\" she finally says, as if speaking to herself. Then to Barjad she says boldly, \"I can offer you a place on the Saqrwa\'il, but I may not be captain of her for long. Or...I can offer you a place on /my/ ship, whatever ship that happens to be. What is your choice?\"

One shoulder lifts in a shrug at those first words, and the ruined lips pull back in parody of a smile. Perhaps this man has his own thoughts on the identity of \'the most powerful man in Umbar\'. The next question, thought, brings out a bark of mirth. \"Yussef rec- recommended,\" he stumbles slightly over the word, \"/you.\"

At the query he frowns thoughtfully. \"To make a choice, a man must know the thing he chooses,\" he offers at last, ducking out of the way a passing sailor with a swiftness at odds with his spoken words. \"Where will you be, if you are not here?\" Briefly his gaze flicks to that busy deck.

[Su\'ad(#20109)]

\"Seaward Tower.\" Su\'ad answers perhaps a little too simply. \"If all goes as I hope, I will be a part of Seaward Tower...in which case, Lord Alphros may want his ship, The Saqr, back.\" She smiles at that and winks. \"So perhaps I should ask, are you joining the Saqr, or are you joining Captain Su\'ad\'s crew?\"

There is a startled flicker behind the man\'s eyes, swiftly suppressed. \"Ah.\" Again that tugging at one side of his mouth. \"I did hear of a Captain of the Havens ...\" He lets the words trail off into ponderous silence, and his features straighten out as best they may. \"Then I will join Captain Su\'ad\'s crew, if she will have me. I have strong arms and back, and work hard,\" comes the boast. Interestingly, he says nothing of his prior seafaring experience.

[Su\'ad(#20109)]

\"Very well. Hey! Careful of that!\" This last is directed to a corsair who drops a case of harpoons. It takes two men to hurriedly clean it up. This seems to satisfy the Captain. She returns her attention to Barjad. \"And what ships have you served on?\" Su\'ad asks.

That question brings a twitch of the lips. \"Enough,\" comes the verbal response, ponderous as ever. Then, quietly, \"The Aganallo. And .. the Dawn-Wind.\" The names are muttered. Afterwards comes the admission. \"I did not always serve on ships. But no man here escapes the Sea.\"

[Su\'ad(#20109)]

Su\'ad shakes her head. \"I don\'t know this Aganallo. Nor the Dawn-wind. But I will ask around. Come to me in a few days, and I will accept your oath. Meanwhile...I must go see a man about a gate.\" She turns around to shout at the corsairs, \"Take it into the city!\" Then she looks back at Barjad with a smirky smile. \"By the way, what is your opinion of the Emperor?\"

That shake of the head brings raised brows, and then a soft sigh. Surprise? Relief? The instruction is met with a nod. \"You do not need help to carry these things?\" Barjad queries levelly. The other question is met with a drawing up of the right side of his mouth. Surely, surely it must be a smile? \"It is not my place to have an opinion,\" he counters. \"But- I did six-\" He stops, shakes his head and corrects the phrasing. \"Six years I was in the south and not here. Now I am here.\" With a flick of his wrist, the shrouding corner of keffiyeh is pulled back into place, as though the conversation were at an end.

[Su\'ad(#20109)]

\"I do, actually. Here, pick that up.\" Su\'ad says, pointing at a long canvas bag with a drawstring pulled tight on one end. It might carry harpoons...or spears. \"And follow me.\"

The man Barjad makes no query as to the bag\'s contents he merely hefts it, balancing the awkward collection of rattling poles with ease. \"Aye, Captain.\" The nasal speech is slightly muffled by the keffiyeh.

Then, shouldering his burden, he moves off as directed.