When Shredda and Flewf arrive at the dock, the Pineapple Express is taking on gas - and from the various warning signs and watchful attendants, it's hydrogen gas instead of the more expensive helium. Which works out well for Shredda - her hookah uses an enclosed flame, so is much safer then openly lit cigarettes or pipes. She and Flewf also have their escort of several crewmen who are not quite finished with their off-shift downtime, led by Fletcher, the Skreek that seems to be in charge of them.
Shredtraum eyes the gas-lines warily. "Yah, flame and dis t'ing not a great mix, I think. So, gotta set up as far from dat as possible," she comments. The vartan is then patting Flewf on the backside, adding, "An it be great to have a pack carrier for dis! Thanks fluffbutt."
"As long as I don't have to carry any of the men," Flewf says, in a slightly distracted tone. She may or may not have noticed the gas lines.
"We setcha up below-deck, or in the cap'n's cabin," Fletcher says. "Ol' Salas should be 'round, supervisin' the gas n' such."
"Nah, you just get to carry dere kids," Shredtraum teases. She's also looking about and deploying her own senses; which mainly consist of trying to sense anyone who's either really nervous, or disturbingly calm.
There are several people aboard that are asleep - which doesn't necessarily make them calm, just unconscious. The ones who are awake are lightly stressed, but they're also moving around a lot. Apparently it's a good time to be swabbing the deck - probably in case of a fire. Of course the ship probably wouldn't be around if that happened, but maybe it eases their minds. It's not hard to pick out Salas - Shredtraum recognizes the first mate's aura from meeting him back in the Paradise club.
"Hmm, nothing weird. Hope the mage has better luck," Shredtraum thinks as her hands, well, she's soon pinching the skreek's rear. "Sorry, dey have minds of dere own," she claims.
"I like da way dey think!" Fletcher chuckles and wiggles his fingers. "We should 'ave a meetin' o' the minds!" He's suddenly all business when they reach the gangplank though, giving a report to the deck officer. "Salas busy? We got a special request." They all have to wait on the dock until the officer goes to check on Salas.
"Yah, we do! But were we gonna find a container of lard and rubber sheets that big at this hour?" the vartan helpfully asks. Maybe she had a few drinks before they left the bar.
Fletcher makes sure nobody is about to be sick, pass out or start a fire until the deck officer returns.. with the familiar Eeee in tow. "You know you can't bring prostitutes onto.. oh, uniforms," Salas notes, looking Shredda and Flewf up and down, and noticing the hookah. "Yeah, you said no hookers, but this is a hookah," Fletcher says with a stupid grin, and winks to the Vartan.
"Yah! You pay for the smoke, the sex is free!" Shredtraum helpfully chirps and winks rather exaggeratedly back.
Salas looks like he's about to dress down the rat, but stops and blinks. "Oh.. uh.. should be alright then," he says, and remembers to grin a moment later. "See to your men first though, some of 'em look wobbly. The ladies can wait in the captain's cabin for now," he says, and then makes a 'follow me' gesture to them.
"You gonna show us de captain's head?" Shredtraum jokes, ever playing the birdbrain. She is patting Flewf to go just ahead of her, and this is so that she can help guide the fnerf so she can focus on sensing and less on direction.
"If you really need it, yes," Salas says, unlocking the cabin door and heading in before the pair of undercover investigators. This is so he can turn the lamps up a bit for those who don't see in the dark very well.. and seeing clearly is important when one guest has such a big sweepy tail.
The cabin isn't very large, and unlike some airship designs it doesn't include a chart table - apparently navigation is handled elsewhere, which does cut down on the number of people in and out. Where a table might have gone is an empty space with actual iron rings set at the corners.
"Errr, what with the rings?" Shredtraum asks as she steers clear of them. Iron and her don't exactly ... mix well. Things have gone from having fun, to being a little worried.
"They're for the chains," Salas says. "The chains aren't iron though.. that's way too expensive. The payment chest is secured here once it arrives."
"Ooooh, good. I thought it might be for peoples," Shredtraum admits, relieved.
"Terrible place for chaining up people," Salas notes. "The captain would never get any sleep from the rattling! Now.. uh.. which of you is the.. detector?"
"Detector? Now does it look like I kin detect anything wit dis snoot o' mine?" The vartan asls and taps a claw on the side of that lippless facial protrusion.
"Err, you are the special inspectors right?" Salas asks, sounding uncertain as he looks between the two. "You work for the.. tall, dark guy, don't you?"
Flewf isn't paying attention to the Eeee, but seems to be sniffing around.
Shredtraum cackles softly and drapes her arm around Salas' shoulders. "Wouldn't be much of special inspectors now would we, if we seemed like we each had a brain," she remarks, letting her accent fall a bit. "People think you're an idiot, they say things around you because they assume you're no threat to them. Yeah, we work for him."
"Oh.. thank goodness," Salas says, the tension leaving him. "You need a tour then, don't you?"
"Yah. She's the expert on detecting subtle stuff, that's why she's kinda quiet. Concentrating. So, I tend to be loud to keep the attention on me," Shredtraum notes and withdraws her arm. "Like how the street gamblers keep you from focusing on their hands by talking a lot, so to speak. We already suspect someone has had exposure to some sort of sensing device; the crew we came in with had a 'whiff' of it, so to speak."
"Well.. if the casino chips leak outside the chest, there should be something here like that, right?" Salas asks. "And.. uh.. what do I call you two?"
"Shredda here ... for tonight anyway," Shredtraum notes, "And the lady with the large butt is Flewf."
"It's not that big," Flewf mutters as she makes her way slowly around the small room. She even paws at the spot where the money chest is secured. "Hmmm."
"For what it's worth, I don suspect anyone we came in with. The sense is like ... hmm ... someone who stood near a smoky fire. They weren't burned or anything, they just had a scent of being near it," Shredtraum tries to explain.
"I trust my crew," Salas says, watching Flewf work. "Is the hookah part of the process?" he asks Shredda.
"Nah, it's just part of the disguise and distraction," Shredtraum explains. "And so far, I'd say your trust isn't misplaced." To Flewf she asks, "Feeling anything?"
"Very faint impression from the enchanted chips," Flewf says, and stops herself just as she starts to swish her tail. "Not enough to tell just how big a signal they put out when they're here.. but.. if it was strong enough to carry beyond the ship it should have left a bigger impression. I think a detector is on the ship, and that is used to trigger the real homing beacon if there is one."
"Hmm, for those that have been taken in raids, how many were spotters or the like? I would think you'd want the beacon as far out from the hull as you could get it, wouldn't you? So that the hull itself doesn't block it?" Shredtraum asks Flewf.
"Except.. if we have the chips, then we aren't the ones being raided," Salas points out. "They're just ballast. The real money is in the chest that doesn't have magic in it. Everyone that's been taken have been non-flyers. Kavi and Skreeks."
"And none from quite the same jobs, I bet?" Shredtraum asks as she rubs her beak.
Flewf frowns. "Well.. that suggests someone has the detector, and is using it.. it isn't something automatic or accidental," she says. "Someone knows how to use it, and sends a signal when they don't detect the chips."
"Depends," Salas tells Shredda. "Most were long-time crew, a very few replacements.. and one was the son of another crewman. He was.. disconsolate. He stays back in Saskanar now."
"That sounds like those taken were not the accomplices, then," Shredtraum has to concede. "Unfortunate. That means they do have real hostages."
"It's easier to carry the smaller ones," Salas says. "The raids are always at night, and it's impossible to tell who is carrying them, so.. we can't exactly fire on them as they leave. The Yodhrephath don't have that issue though. Which is probably why they always attack her first."
"How many Yodhrephath have they killed?" Shredtraum asks.
"The first time, she got a lot of them before going down, so we made it through," Salas notes. "After that.. we've been hit seven times, the Cloud Treader three times.. Out of ten raids, I think we've lost six Yodhrephath and the others were pretty badly wounded. But they always insist on flying back to Babel instead of coming on board, so I don't know how many made it back."
"I'm guessing none of them made it back though," the Eeee notes grimly.
Shredtraum whistles. "That's ... bad. And brazen. Our employer is actually generally fond of the Yodhrephath. They can be harsh, but they are generally fair these days. So, losing six of them is ... not good," she remarks grimly.
"It's worrying," Salas says. "I mean.. they don't have to escort us, but.. if they don't it might seem like they're afraid, and.. frankly, it'd be easier for them to get rid of us than the pirates."
"They wouldn't do that," Shredtraum notes. "Not kill you anyway. Recommend contract cancel, yes. Kill, no. Our employer has had at least some effect of getting many to rein in darker instincts and such."
"Flewf, you've roughly seen the shape of the ship. Where in your opinion would be the best place from which to signal with the best hope of being heard?" Shredtraum asks.
"Well, it wouldn't matter if someone was listening," Flewf notes. "Light Magic.. and Shadow, Air and Spirit for that matter.. can all be used for point-to-point messaging. Now, a beacon.. something that can be detected as a location.. tends to require a lot of power, depending on how long it lasts and how far it needs to go. But there's no physical barrier to it really. It could be done from anywhere on the ship, or from nearby it."
"But a ritual enchantment like that would be pretty hard to hide," the Fnerf adds, brows furrowed. "I need to think like a sneak.."
"Yeah, but a large beacon would be felt by anyone slightly sensitive wouldn't it? I can't imagine the entire crew and no one has any magic sensitivity at all," Shredtraum points out.
"Oh, no, not at all," Flewf says. "The beacon isn't sending out raw magic. It's a very specific sort. For what we're talking about, it'd have to be Spirit or Light magic. Caroban's beacon uses Light Magic, but it's tuned so that only ships with the proper enchanted receiving crystal can detect it."
"And.. hmmm. What's the range a Rhaktor or Ptera can fly, anyway?" Flewf asks.
"If it were spirit magic, dark and spooky could detect it immediately. He's kind of super-sensitive to it," Shredtraum notes.
"The Yodhrephath Pteras can escort us all the way to the border," Salas notes. "I don't know about Rhaktors, but I assume their range is shorter. They aren't all wing like a Ptera, nor cold-blooded."
Flewf paces. "I guess they can fly at night then," she mutters. "So.. a beacon needs to be pretty high-powered, so that stored magic might be easily detectable. And volatile, if one got too close to a Forbidden Zone.."
A pacing Fnerf in a small room means others need to be on the move to keep out of the way, so Salas starts dancing around Flewf.
"Could it be another demi-god? Y'know, someone similar to our employer? They're walking sources, to a degree. Or at least walking batteries," Shredtraum suggests, "And more stable than some inanimate thing."
"Maybe the beacon doesn't have to be on the ship at all," Flewf notes, then points to Shredda, "A spirit observer. It'd need to be really efficient though. That isn't something easily done though."
"Alright.. you fly into and out of Babel along the main trade corridor, then break off to follow your route into Saskanar, right?" the Fnerf asks Salas.
The Eeee nods. "So? Everyone does that," he points out.
"Well, realize that if Amenlichli is involved with this, that anything powerful spirit could be in play," Shredtraum notes with a shudder. "Though I don't know if that demon is involved or not."
"The Yodh would detect something spooky though.. wouldn't they?" Flewf asks. "I.. don't know much about them, just that you don't want to be on their bad side. Can they all do magic?"
"No. Most of them cannot. Amng the Yodhrephath only one is really good at it. Windcaller. And she's a former mage," Shredtraum notes.
"So.. maybe they don't have to hide the power source then," Flewf says, and then starts waving her hands. "So.. maybe.. there's a lot of air-traffic in the corridor, right? A ship leaving after yours, or even one coming in.. could launch a pair of Pteras with keen-sighted riders, like Vartans, that shadow each of your ships at extreme distance and.. keeping up in the sun or whatever you do to avoid being spotted. They carry the beacon spells. Then, at some point.. really doesn't matter when.. someone on each ship checks to see if they have the decoy box or not.."
"So, that would mean no-one on the crew would be suspect," Shredtraum notes. "Have you ever been the only ships to leave the city at a particular time?"
"I.. don't think so," Salas says. "We always launch together. But if anyone launches after us.. we wouldn't know."
"Someone on the ship still has to send a signal to the followers though," Flewf says. "The distance is short, the signal is a ping.. so could easily be done with an enchantment on something, barely any power needed. The follower that gets the signal knows he's following the right ship. When you get near the ambush zone or whatever, he sets off his beacon, then joins the attackers. Do you get jumped from ahead or behind?"
"Both? And from the sides. They never all come from one direction, that way the Yodhrephath can't take them all out," Salas notes.
"It's.. probably more complicated than I'm suggesting then," Flewf notes. "The follower would need to send some information about your course. Especially if you zig around because of the wind. So they'd know where to be ready."
"Not sure if a Ptera could carry a Vartan," Salas says. "Never seen them on anything but Rhaktors. And.. a Vartan wouldn't use magic anyway. Eeee would be simpler. Someone could chirp a signal off the stern and be heard at a distance."
"Well, do you have to register any sort of flight plan with anyone before leaving the city?" Shredtraum asks, "In case rescue ships need to be sent?"
"We have to arrange departures and arrivals with the dockmaster," Salas explains. "He needs to know when our berth will become available for an incoming flight. And when we come in, a dock pilot with that information comes to guide us in."
"But what about your route outside of the city?" Shredtraum asks.
"No, every captain keeps that a secret," Salas says. "For a ship like ours, it would be pointless to say what course we're taking when we're having to depend on the wind."
"We can say what our destination is, but not how we're getting there," the first mate notes.
"Ah, so if they monitor the wind, they can predict your path," Shredtraum points out. "Or if they could control the wind ..."
"Didn't you say Air Magic can send messages?" Salas asks Flewf.
"Yeah, and.. well, nobody would notice Air Magic around an airship," Flewf says. "We're trained to ignore it if we can sense it."
"So ... that would seem kind of like the best signal message in this case wouldn't it?" Shredtraum concludes.
"So.. if it's an Air Mage that follows, they don't need to tell their people where to expect us, they can make sure we're steered towards where they're already waiting."
"But then they still need two ... one for each ship ... and someone to signal which ship to steer," Shredtraum notes.
"Air Magic isn't the best at enchanting items though," Flewf notes. "But.. if it is an Eeee sending a signal, then the only artifact needed on the ship is the detector."
"Air Magic is also good at amplifying sounds," Flewf notes. "So even a few miles out shouldn't be unmanageable."
"Saskanar uses a lot of Air Mages, actually," Salas notes. "When it comes to growing things, you want Earth Mages for the soil and Air Mages for weather management. And Fire Mages to.. put out fires."
"Would licensed mages actually do this, though? Or would it be more ... 'witches', so to speak?" Shredtraum asks.
"Witches wouldn't be powerful enough," Flewf claims. "They aren't specialized like Mages are. No, if this is the correct scenario, they're professional Air Mages. Of course, that doesn't mean they aren't rogues. Not every Mage involved in the big Babel ritual were found. But.. it's still a money-sink. The effort involved can't be making money from whatever you're carrying in a single chest!"
"We know that," Salas says grumpily. "It's an effort to put our employers out of business, we think."
"The goal isn't the money, it's the trade disruption," Shredtraum remarks and clicks her beak. "The money just offsets some of the expense of the disruption. So, someone must be funding this."
"I'm betting on the Eschaton Group, they own or control a lot of business in Saskanar," Salas says. "If they can't buy out an independent, they'll drive them out. Pretty sure they own some of the government too."
"Ah, that makes sense, I guess," Flewf says.
"Thw who behind it isn't as important as the who here is triggering the attack so we can control that," Shredtraum notes.
"There should be one of the detectors somewhere on the ship," Flewf says. "It could be disguised as a ring or anything with a decorative crystal in it. But.. I'm guessing it'll be something small that isn't being carried. Hidden somewhere, to be brought out just for the detection and then hidden again, so if it's found there's no person obviously attached to it."
"How small?" Salas asks.
Flewf holds her fingers about a half inch apart. "Just a little crystal that will glow. It'd work best in the dark of course."
"Magnifying glass? Spyglass?" Shredtraum suggests. "Neither would seem out of place here..."
Salas frowns, and suggests, "On the inside of an eye-patch. It'd be invisible to anyone else, and always in the dark."
"How many wear eyepatches on ship?" Shredtraum asks.
"All of us," Salas claims. "It's common practice when you're above-deck to have an eyepatch, so if you have to run below-deck you have an eye that's already prepped for low-light. I wear one when we're flying. Only the Vartans don't, since they need their eyes for spotting, and because they're too big for close-quarters fighting below-deck."
"Well, that narrows it down a whole lot," Shredtraum comments and then sticks out her tongue. It's an odd sight.
"But they aren't worn while you're docked, right?" Flewf asks. "None of the men in the tavern were wearing one."
"No, the men'll have theirs stowed in their bunks," Salas says.
"So, we should go scan the bunks, then," Shredtraum comments, "Right?"
"A third of the crew is sleeping in them right now," Salas says, and rubs his chin. "Which is most of the bunks - they share, no wasting a bunk for two of three shifts after all. How close do you need to be to sense something?" the Eeee asks Flewf.
The Fnerf rummages through her hair for a moment, and produces one of the enchanted casino chips. "With this.. a foot or two. I'll notice the reaction."
"Might be too close and will wake people?" Shredtraum mutters. "Still, worth a try to confirm the theory."
"Unless our hypothetical traitor keeps his eye-patch in his pocket," Salas notes. "But.. you just need to get close to them, or to their clothes.."
"If I don't feel anything going through the bunkroom, then Shredda can get the awake ones to take their clothes off," Flewf claims.
"Ey! Since when did I get t' be the ship slut?" Shredtraum says with mock-indignity.
"You could just ask them to strip," Flewf notes. "If you're already naked, I doubt anyone wouldn't.. unless they're into guys more."
"That does tend to be a Babel thing ... guys into guys," Shredtraum quips.
"Eh, first off, let's narrow 'em down a bit more," Salas says. "Eeee. Only ten in the crew, including me."
"I didn't pick up anything from the one with Fletcher's bunch," Flewf notes.
"That'd be Skeezerikki," Salas says. "Hmm. Now I'm thinking leverage.."
"As in could one of the crew be bribed or blackmailed?" Shredtraum asks.
Salas nods. "It's a big risk to be selling out your crewmates like this. You don't do that for just money. Crew is like family - unless you got blood family that trumps 'em."
"Are you sure money isn't enough?" Flewf asks.
"For a tight-knit group?" Shredtraum says, "No, money is not enough."
"We're a small company," Salas notes. "The daughter of one of the owners is first mate on the Treader even. We don't pay a salary.. our crew buy into the company. They're shareholders. It's a better deal than crewing on one of the big fleets for no stake."
"Huh. Sounds better than being in debt to a Guild for.. however long it takes to pay off," Flewf notes.
"Ah yes, the girl with the new boobs," Shredtraum cackles. "Spooky told me about 'er."
"They're certainly tempting.." Salas claims, then clears his throat. "The Cap'n has all the crew background. Family and such," he says. "But.. I think it's best to just focus on the Eeee first, see if anything comes up. Because if it isn't an Eeee then that means we're probably wrong about how the signaling is done."
"Oh.. do any of the crew injure themselves regularly?" Flewf suddenly asks.
"So ... why don't we go check out the Eeee sleeping right now and see if we can clear them?" Shredtraum suggests. "We've gone circles on theory, we need to act."
"What do yeh mean by regularly?" Salas says as he heads for the door.
"Cuts, probably on the hands.. well, they'd bite their tongues more likely.. easier to hide.." the Fnerf says, the steam going out of whatever idea she seemed to be following.
"Why does being injured matter?" Shredtraum asks Flewf.
"Blood can be used to activate certain enchantments," Flewf explains. "It replaces the need for storing power in the enchantment."
"Ah, anyway, to the bunks!" Shredtraum claims. "And not for playing innem."
"Didn't realize magic was that creepy," Salas says, and opens the door. "Fletcher's probably tucked some of his boys into whatever nook is available down there, but it's on the way to the ship's mess, where you can set up your happy-hookah."
Shredtraum gives a talon-thumbs up. "Ya get a free beak-job fer the help!" she teases as she collects her pack off of Flewf's back so the fnerf can completely focus on her job.
After locking the cabin behind them, Salas spots Fletcher coming up through a hatch and tells him, "You can use the mess for your smoke party, try not to wake anyone as you take them down. I gotta check on the gas pressure."
The Skreek salutes and says, "Aye aye, Salas!" Then her turns and grins at the ladies, and gestures for them to follow him. "Mind the steps, they's steep!" And after he says that, he looks at Flewf.. but shrugs and figures she'll figure out how to fit.
Flewf takes one look down the hatch and tells Shredtraum, "I think I need to go down tail-first."
Shredtraum hmms and fears she scared the Eeee off. This time she goes in front of Flewf ... so in case she stumbles, the vartan can use her weight and strength to brace Flewf from tumbling down the stairs and notes to her, "Just be careful and I brace ya if needed." To the rat she asks, "So, ya decide on yer evening fun?"
"Depends on what gives the most shine for the shekel," Fletcher says, and waits lower on the stairs to see if Shredda will also back down them. Maybe he wants to return the earlier pinch.
The Vartan goes down normally, so no pinching for the rat! "The more ya pay, the more ya shine, ratto," she points out.
"I'll have to shake down.. err.. get the other lads to pitch in to the pot," Fletcher promises. Shredda feels Flewf's tail against her wings as the Fnerf backs down. The hall at the bottom of the stair-ladder isn't very wide.. so Flewf will probably have back up the entire way (which.. could give a good excuse for her to go slowly through the bunk room).
Shredtraum waits and keeps an eye on Flewf to make sure she doesn't tumble or fall. It won't be until the fnerf is back on the floor will she head on ... and even then will keep an eye on the fnerf. "Good. Money is always de best way t' a girl's heart, yannow," she claims to the rat.
"Not jewelry?" the Skreek asks, as Flewf places one foot at a time for her descend, and tries not to smack the back of her head either. Eventually she's got all four feet on the floor, and looks over her shoulder (and around her tail) before asking, "Can you guide me back, Shred?"
Shredtraum takes hold of that tail. "Yah, I gotcha back covered and will guide. Just follow de tug," the vartain states. Then back to the rat she comments, "Well, jewelry is money too, really. And shinies are always good for vartans, no?"
"So some shinies fer your tail earns a lad.. some tail?" Fletcher asks, lighting a lantern to make things easier. There's a door ahead that he opens, releasing a lot of snoring sounds.
"Sure can!" Shredtraum squawks, then she goes quiet once she hears the snoring. She tugs the fnerf's tail gently, trying to guide Flewf on when she needs to turn, back, and move. "You're doing good," she whispers back.
It's awkward, since there are some bodies propped up with their legs across the gap. There's no slack when it comes to filling bunks - they're always in use by someone. Even Eeee.. since apparently hanging by perches would take up too much space. But then Saskanar Eeee don't have the same build as those with both arms and wings, so take up less space when cocooning in a bunk. So Shredtraum has to guide Flewf's feet as well, to avoid stepping on people. It's slow going.
It's a good thing Shredtraum has wings, as she can use the tips to tap legs when the fnerf needs to lift a leg higher. And slow-going is good as it gives Flewf time to check the Eeee for signals from an eyepatch ... and she doesn't even have to make an excuse for going slow!
Flewf gets stuck a few times - or pretends too anyway. It takes nearly ten minutes to make it through the barely twenty-foot long bunkroom, but then it's into the mess, which has more room since the table is folded up against the wall. The kitchen is beyond, and food is being prepared even though they're in dock (after all, any food they didn't consume on the journey needs to be eaten before they take on fresh supplies). There, Flewf has room to turn around.
Shredtraum helps Flewf turn, so she can lean in and whisper, "Anything?" She lingers a bit to get any reply the fnerf may offer, then she has to go about setting up the hookah for a 'party'. She should probably use something calming and less intense so that, well, the guys don't get too rowdy.