16. The Waters to Curieux

The party spent the next day scouring the woods to the west for any sign of the courier, though their efforts achieved Receiving their papers of passage from Barry, the party set sail on the a small trading vessel called the Salim the following dawn, heading downriver to the ports of Vesium. Their trip to the old city’s docks proved uneventful, and they subsequently changed vessels to the Orina’s Wind, an impressive ship made to traverse the high seas and captained by a man named Lofar Loft-Hands. However, it took only a few hours after setting sail for the adventurers to discover that their fellow passengers on the Orina’s Wind included the vampire, Anatoly Yevgen, with Andrea and Jacqueline for company.
The group resolved to ride out the voyage incognito, yet that very night a masked individual assailed a near defenseless Andrea in the hall. Kent rushed into the hall to intervene, with Varris, Jester, and Andraste following soon after from their rooms. They provided ample distraction which allowed Andrea to slip away and hide in her cabin. Soon after, Anatoly arrived on the scene and proceeded to dispose of the assassin. Afterwards, the remainder of the party gathered in their cabin with Andrea, before later being joined by Anatoly. The group had a brief discussion, in which Anatoly explained how he had been effectively driven from the city and how he had accompanied Andrea and Jacqueline for their safety. Ultimately, the vampire offered a truce to the party for the duration of the trip, which they accepted. In the following weeks, the party tended to their own matters on the ship, occasionally speaking with the captain, the crew, and the two noblewomen. However, one late afternoon, a sailor perched in the crow’s nest spotted figures in the distance, flying towards the ship.

"Me favorites're girly and the biggun! But they've all got somethin' 'bout 'em, I suppose."

— —Lofar Loft-Hands