Let us take a look {PRP}

[Sanr]

Magideus snorted softly as he paced the center of his shop the wooden planks beneath his hooves creaking under his weight. He had bought the place cheap and done little to the interior to make it more pleasing to the eye and very little to the outside. He cared little for such things all he wanted was to buy and sell. Making money was his only goal and he believed in spending as little as possible to make any at all. The little shop had sunk at one point lower than the doc and now steps were needed to reach the door way. Which was barely large enough for the Snerf to make it though himself though his human and smaller patrons didn’t seem to have much trouble.


Beams were stacked in numbers some timbers striped and bought off of ship wrecks kept the shanty store from sinking any lower. A great mast from some decorate sea fearing vessel stand erect in the enter of the building to keep the ceiling from collapsing. The wooden cylinder decorated with various sizes of hooks that hung all sorts of items gladly for sale. From the walls hung many shelves up to the ceiling that reached much higher than it should have, if one looked closely you could see that there was once a second floor seemingly ripped out, likely so that it’s new owner wouldn’t have to duck in his own home and business.


Many things hung about the shop large to small. And behind the curtain behind a counter in the back of the shop held many more wonders as well as Madedemus’s residence that consisted of a sizable room bought from the neighboring building with the walls between the two demolished and somewhat of a hall created. This is where he kept the wares of most value locked away in a safe that’s door could only be opened by one who knew the combination and could push open the great slave of iron.


The content of such a safe was starting to dwindle much smaller than magi would have wished. That is why he was calling on this venture. Calling upon two of his most trusted treasure hunters and calling for the employ of a new face.. he was uncomfortable working with those he did not know but when the renting of an airship is cheap he would never be the one to argue. He had heard of her though one of his other contacts.. a fairy with a chip on her shoulder along with a clockwork wing, an interesting being to say the least. He had went though the same connection to contract her employ giving only his name and coin he had to wonder if she had heard of him.


A beast of the folk was not hard to come by in this day an age but one of his kind was unheard of, at the passing of his parents the snerf was almost completely sure he was the last. But he also knew he had a bit of a namesake in the underground as one of the only clean pass-through in the land of Fossgate that would be willing to buy their tainted merchandise. So it was half and half if she knew who exactly had hired her.


Magidemus let out a huff his long ears pushing forward before he reached back to tug at the straps that held the large canvas bag to his back before moving back on to all fours beginning his pacing again. Where were they? Ax and Mordicai were never ones to be late.. but they weren’t late quite yet… and he was sure he couldn’t count on them to be early.. he had written to them to meet in at his shop on this day at this time and from there they would set off to the docking place of the airships to meet up with their captain. That was the plan and he was sticking to it. He could only hope they would.


This was not an opportunity someone was lively to pass up on.. Near the center of the vanguard mountain range he had heard tale of a temple, likely some sort of castle or shrine from way before his time, that looked picked clean from his kind but… what he had learned that the ones before him had not known there was a second building.. deep in the stone of the mountain protecting the most valuable of treasures.. perhaps others had known about the cavern… but dared to venture too near since great beasts have been heard to dwell near the opening drawn by the magic hidden deep inside. Heh like that was going to stop Magidemus.

{({ Starting in Foss but since we are going here this is where I am going to post.. I hope you dont mind waiting for us to go get you Bloody })}

[Baxley]

It wasn't like Baxley to ever do this sort of arrangement for anyone else no matter their business standing with him. However, Magi had proven an invaluable connection with the markets located within Fossgate to him and a sort of friend. He kept the Snerf's pockets full and a steady supply of high end quality pelts to sell to the market there and split the money between the two of them when he came to collect. It was a good deal for both of them. Baxley had a leg in the market there and Magi had one of the best Nivali hunters supplying him with quality pelts unlike any other.

Though calling any Snerf a friend was strange to him considering he had only met, or even heard of, one Snerf of the Folk and that was Magi himself, he still did so. Not an extremely close friend--Baxley held no doubts the Snerf would sell him out if he knew who Baxley was and was offered enough money--but he was close enough to be classified as such. It was the only reason he could come up with that could explain just why he had decided to go on the trip. True the prospect of valuable artifacts was extremely tempting on it's own, but hiding his identity was higher priority than the trinkets. Yet here he was strolling into Fossgate and melting easily into the crowd.

Magi's place wasn't hard to find and the Snerf himself stood out like a sore thumb among the normal crowd. Baxley himself was dressed in his normal attire. Somewhat baggy clothing, trench coat, red mask and amber goggles hiding his face and black hat pulled over his head. Tail was securely out of view and tucked into his pants, an awkward position to be sure but he would deal with it. He could easily disappear into the shadows and crowds if he needed to and that was just how he liked it.

"Hello, Magi," Baxley slide up beside the Snerf and glanced at him. His tone remained neutral for the moment as he wasn't sure if this was entirely sure when this business trip was going to begin for them. Better to stay on the side of caution than to be sorry later on. "Brought a few presents for you." His gloved hand patted the slightly bulged satchel at his side and his tone took to something more pleasant than the earlier tone. The Snerf would understand the meaning, or should considering how many trips he had taken to visit him before baring these gifts.

Baxley turned to face the Snerf fully and crossed his arms over his chest. He had been told there would be two others on this trip and that alone was enough to tempt him to decline the offer, but, again, he was still here. Magi had better damn well recognize how generous Baxley was being right now. Hiding his identity from one person was no problem. From three people he would have to spend days and nights with was an entirely different thing. This trip better be worth the hell he was going to go through for this.

"When are we meeting the others?" Baxley questioned quietly, tilting his head to the side and staring at Magi through those amber goggles that hid his eyes so well. Using body language to express himself better than his current tone would. Curious... and already defensive and wary of those he had yet to meet. Typical Baxley, or, rather, 'Ax' as Magi had come to know him as since he hadn't revealed his identity to the Snerf.

[Gearr]

The trip in itself had been more or less uneventful, there'd been one minor hiccup along the way but that wasn't frankly anything the warlock saw to be worth mentioning, no, in his books it meant nothing. His real problem had actually been in leaving. He'd obtained a letter a while ago, a letter from his good friend about a trip. Had it been from any other he'd have perhaps declined, especially considering the fact it was going to pull him away from his home for perhaps three months including the travel time back and forth. The was a long freaking time to be separated him his clutz of a brother, a brother who was no doubt going to get himself into all kinds of trouble whilst Mordecai was away. That had actually been a reason the younger boy had given for him not to do this. The thing was... If Magideus was after something it was best to involve yourself, because you just knew that if he personally was going then whatever it was would end up being worth your time.

Patting the back of Cora's neck as she wandered on through the harbour he scanned the area, tail twitching in it's curled position over the back on the Snerf's back. Something he'd long since learned about riding these low slung animals that it was both stupid and painful to leave a long tail hanging, and so it had simply come that he curled the thick appendage over the pack of supplies on the creature's back. The problem here was that the damn thing would become pretty stiff... Though saying this so did the rest of you when riding a snerf. Some would perhaps favour a horse, they were probably more comfortable than the hulking form his was presently saddled on, however it was a simple fact that these were far more durable. They could deal with more than your average horse, and so to him that had made such a creature the ideal choice, that and there offensive.

Pushing the goggles from over his eyes back up into his hair teal eyes again scanned. He was close, that he knew. With a sigh he pulled the scarf down from over his mouth, though keeping it high enough to suitably cover his neck. His impatience with the matter was already alas becoming to high, he'd been travelling to this place, for this day, for this time, for a freaking long time and right now he still had no idea what he'd be doing. For all knew this could just be some ornate trap or some crap... He doubted that though, just as long as he made this worth Mordecai's time then he'd be fine with it. Saying this though he supposed even if the horse face didn't he'd have to just freaking deal with it. Not doing so would be of terrible bother... Although frankly objecting in his own way would not be beyond Mordecai, when it cam to getting his point across the ginger was pretty damn imaginative. The less said of that the better though, especially as the sign of the little shop came into view.

Reigning in the Snerf until she slowed to a stop outside he hopped down from the now quadrupedal snerf, tying her up outside before unfurling his tail and stretching, various joints popping and shifting as they worked out the kinks of it. With a content snort he walked to the door, stopping only for a moment as he heard voices before pushing in, not a knock given.

"When are we meeting the others?"

Blinking he looked the taller man over, eyes narrowing slightly as the thick fur on his plush tail stood up somewhat, giving an odd look to it, but perfectly displaying his unease toward this new fellow. Never before had he met this fellow, and now he was being expected to travel with him? It just didn't sit right with the silent man, though for now he'd deal with it. No way in hell did that mean his was going to play like some retarded kitten to try and get along with this guy. In this age trusting another was hard, especially given the professions of all the people here, trust was something earned, and that it had not yet being. What he couldn't help but notice though was the way the man carried himself, whether he meant to be such or not he seemed to be showing himself heavily through body language. How amusing, two humans who displayed more with how they moved, and an animal. This was certainly an odd band... One he was not familiar with.

Looking over the snerf he gave a curious glance before making a sharp gesture at the red headed jackass. Whether decipherable or not his was asking who the hell this guy was. He was simply doing so in his own way~

[Sanr]

Magi had begun to pace again this time on all fours his knuckles hitting the wooden floor his ears pushed forward in a hint of agitation.. he hated trips.. or at least the time before a trip where there was time to turn back. There was no turning back though, he had already paid for their passage via air ship and he was never going to lose an investment so easily if ever.

Magidemus would release a snort of surprise when he masked figure appeared next to him quickly moving back up on to his hind legs his claws uncurling ready to strike, as was the natural snerf reaction. He relaxed though when he recognized the voice and the red goggles his ears lifting high in the air as he looked down at him. He had always found it funny how small all humans were but they had some how managed to claim and tame snerfs to do their bidding. He had once seen what could best be described as a cowboy break a bull snerf and the memory both intrigued and sickened him. The first step was to bind the creature’s arms to his chest leaving him unable to walk in the more comfortable position on all fours or strike out at the others around them and the second was to ride around on his back until he stopped fighting.

A cold chill ran down his back as Magi forced a bit of a smile at the indication of a full satchel “Oh! My friend my friend! This is a wonderful gift indeed! Of the finest quality I am sure.. as always?” The snerf would lower his head sniffing at the bag a moment wringing his long fingered hands together, a habit he had picked up from watching so many nervous humans as they did business with him. From the size of the bag and what he had seen from the many pelts to pass his door in the last year he had to guess there was a smaller load than usual but still worth a few gold.

Long ears raised when he heard the heavy pounding steps of a snerf outside and a sniff told him it was one he knew well.. Cora a little female he had come across on that trip to the cowboy’s ranch and purchased right away. Having been still curious about the non Folk of his kind. The little female ended up causing more trouble than she was worth going around his shop shitting everywhere as animals do and managing to gnaw through some of his merchandise. That was when he learned why snerfs were never considered inside animals and why he often had trouble finding a room at an inn. After dealing with about a month of this horror Magi managed to convince his friend Mordicai to take her off his hands.. at decent price of course. And it seemed said friend had finally arrived for their little venture.

The tailed witch would enter giving Ax a bit of a curious look before looking up at Magi. This was a curious beast indeed… this human.. or witch.. had great potential in the magical arts but for years having been un practiced and under taught he knew little of his own power. He also was as mute as a stone, unable to speak a word. The thought was always something that amused the snerf since he could not walk in bargaining circles with the man. things were strait forward and rather natural between the two and their business relationship.

Magi would raise his head and hand to wave Mordicai more in to the confines and to close the door his long ears swiveling about his head. “Ah thank you for comin Mordy! It is good to see your face again. I trust Cora is treating you well? Mmmm? I am sure you have a bit of a saddle sore from the trip here…” Another thing that always amused him… humans complaining about saddle sores after long journeys.. how did they think that made their mounts feel? “I have a tad more business to attend to before we go along our way…” He nodded his long head at him before returning his attention to Ax.

He reached down to his left thigh satchel, about the size of a horse’s saddle bag and pulled out a cloth drawstring pouch.. by the weight in his slender fingers his guess was about ten gold in the bag.. he didn’t believe the furs that Baxton had to offer were worth that much but the snerf, with two long fingers and lacking a usable thumb was unable to grip the thin metallic disks so he kept several bags of various amounts on him at all times and watched with a trained eye as the other whom he was paying counted out the amount. “I am going to give you… seven gold for your gift… and no time for bargaining my friend no time just count out your payment.. slowly for me and be sure to show me the coins you return to the bag.”Magi had learned after several times working with this man he liked to give himself a tip from time to time so careful vigilance was something new he had to develop.

After the gold was counted and the bag returned magi would extend a hand for his new merchandise not caring if he gave him the furs or the full satchel.. it was up to him if he wanted to share their little transaction with Mordicai for what it was. When he received when he was looking for the snerf would excuse himself and disappear behind the curtain speaking as he moved “Introduce yourselves why don’t you while I stash this away?” Again he was not sure how much either party wanted to share with each other so he would let them handle their own introductions.. perhaps helping out Mordicai upon his return but he was more than sure Ax could handle himself.

A few moments latter he would return smiling brightly as much as his floppy long face would let him and nodded to the two hoping they had shared all they were wanting to at their first meeting so that they could go about their way. One more thing to do though. A paper wrapped square lay lightly in one of Magi’s claws, it was obviously book shaped but not too big of one. “Mordyyyyy” Magi hung on the last note almost singing it which sounded strange in his thick baritone. “I have something for you my furry companion.” Holding out the package he would wait for the magic wielder to reach for it before drawing back “Three silver and then you can have it..” He reach ed back in to one of his thigh satchels and pulled out another cloth bag opening it with his long thumb like claw inside were already several silver coins waiting to be joined.

Should thee man take the book and pay magi would move forward ready to leave the shop blowing out lanterns as he went, electrical lights not being the best to have when the building was slowly sinking in to the ocean. “off we go then” If not he would simply slide the book on to a shelf high above the heads of the two humans and go about leaving the same way.

Within the wrapping should Mordicai look was a small book written across the cover “A brief introduction to simple curses”

[Baxley]

Baxley grinned under his mask at the snerf's jumpy behavior. Not at all put off by the defensive and threatening posture the beast put up. It was Baxley's fault after all that he had spooked him into putting up such a show. If he honestly thought he was in trouble with the snerf he would have reacted accordingly. As it was all he did was chuckle quietly and shake his head. "Jumpy, aren't you?"

"Top quality, as always. Wouldn't expect anything else from me, now would you?" Baxley's gaze followed as Magi sniffed the bag curiously and he tilted his head to the side as he waited for the snerf to be done inspecting them. He would have said more but the heavy sound of a snerf walking up to the little shop made him pause and freeze him tight. Shutting down as it were and stepping clear of Magi, hand on his dagger, turning towards the door and accessing the newest interloper. Only Magi's friendly greeting towards the other made him relax even the slight bit. Enough that he removed his hand from his weapon at least.

Magi's words made him chuckle softly as he counted out precisely the number given to him. Even going so far as to recount it as he added them to his own pouch before he handed Magi his back. "See? Seven gold." He hesitated and glanced over towards Mord and narrowed his eyes slightly before shrugging. If they were going on this trip together then he'd find out one way or another. Quietly and quickly he popped open the satchel and hefted out the pelts. Eyes trained on Mord though. Watching and waiting to see how he would react to the little exchange. It wasn't every day you saw someone passing along full Nivali pelts like that.

When Magi left the room Baxley turned full towards the other red head and stared at him. Arms crossed over his chest defensively and he said nothing, just stared at him. Baxley did not know the man, nor was he even remotely interested in him. As far as he was concerned the man was just an annoyance he would have to live with for a time until they got back from the trip.

Speaking of getting back...

Baxley hummed thoughtfully as his thoughts drifted to one man in particular. Jericho had fled from him to cool off--and to hide his shame though the man wouldn't admit to that--and Baxley hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him. Would the man even care? Probably if he went over to Baxley's house under the premise of 'business' again and didn't find the man at home. Baxley rolled his eyes behind his amber goggles and sighed. Maybe he should have left a note or something.

He stirred when Magi entered the room again though speaking to the other man and waving some kind of book around in his clawed hand. It wasn't unusual but it did pique his curiosity over what it could be since he couldn't see the cover of the book. Oh well, if he was so curious over it he could find out later. Shouldering his much light satchel he would turn then and follow the snerf out the door.

[Gearr]

“Ah thank you for coming Mordy! It is good to see your face again. I trust Cora is treating you well? Mmmm? I am sure you have a bit of a saddle sore from the trip here… I have a tad more business to attend to before we go along our way…”

Stepping in further toward the gesture he pushed the door shut with his foot, before stepping closer once more, distance being kept between himself and this new fellow before he bristled at that damn nickname. Of anything people called that was up there with the worst of them, in fact it was perhaps thee worse of them all. There wasn't any real reason for his dislike of such names, bar for the fact they were downright degrading. Eh, whatever, as the Snerf continued on he gave a brief nod of his head. The little female he'd purchased was as gentle as anything under the right hand, yes he could have obtained one from anywhere, and yes it would have pretty much been the same, but despite this he was as affectionate to her as any owner would be to a family pet. Strange~ With a blink to the second question though he gave a disgruntled huff before rolling his eyes. Now frankly that had nothing at all to do with the Snerf, yes or no that was no one else's business~

“I am going to give you… seven gold for your gift… and no time for bargaining my friend no time just count out your payment.. slowly for me and be sure to show me the coins you return to the bag.”
"See? Seven gold."

Listening with a dull interest at best he lent on a table, arms folded as eyes cast out of a small box window. At the end of the day he had no interest in the exchange, it was neither of benefit or threat to him at present, and nor did it have to do with what was to come. As the sounds changed though eyes flickered back, only to catch sight of plush furs... Nivali? Yes, it very seemed such. Catching the red head's look a brow winged itself slightly. What? Did he expect fear? Unease? Pft. Shaking his head slightly he once more went to staring contently out the window, mind vaguely casting back to the small female Nivali he'd met with his brother. The things were just as intelligent as any human, just as capable. So on those grounds one would perhaps call the killing of them murder. Huh, it wasn't something for the mute to dwell on, there was little doubt he himself would do it if asked, and frankly the trading of their pelts was nothing new to him. The human was perhaps being to naïve for thinking he'd find the whole damn thing anything less than just... Boring.

“Introduce yourselves why don’t you while I stash this away?”

As Magi left, clomping around in the background he retained his prior position of leaning, arms folded, yet instead of holding the window in his gaze he fixed it on the other man. It seemed he had no intention of giving any form of introduction besides stare, a look Mordecai simply reciprocated, tail tip flicking in displeasure as he did. For him learning someone's name was not the most important thing for him to know, unless he felt like writing out what he wanted to say, which was a rarity in itself for him, he was never actually going to be able to use the name. If it was a matter of manners then yes, perhaps the whole silent exchange would have pissed him off, but as it stood it suited him near perfectly... And theeen the fellow lost interest as he gave something close to a humming noise. With their 'introductions' sorted his gaze once more fell to the window. It was simply a sad fact that he found that to be the more interesting area of the room.

“Mordyyyyy~ I have something for you my furry companion. Three silver and then you can have it..”

Furry what now? Shifting himself into standing with out support he approached the snerf, an all to curious look to his features. Knowing the trader well enough he didn't bother damn well reaching for it, having the strongest of suspicions he'd pull it back.. Or worse, hit him with it. Eugh. No, instead he looked over the mostly concealed book, catching the title before giving a tilt of his head. To all but those who could smell the rusted scent on him it wasn't perhaps obvious as to what the little warlock was, there was absolutely no visible difference between he and a run of the mill human. Of those that did know though there were fewer that new his shamefully low level of proficiency. Whilst he was proficient, having a fair knack for one curse specifically, he'd not exactly... Been given influential advice so to say. So with that a gloved hand was dropping into an inside pocket, finding the required coinage before paying and withdrawing the book from Magi's grip.

“Off we go then.”

Hm, at last. Turning to follow suit he'd tail the others, leaving as they did, though turning instead toward the patiently waiting Cora. Swiftly packing the book away onto the satchel upon her back as she pawed at the ground, apparently eager to get going again. Rubbing her side slightly in an affection rarely shown he promptly unlooped the ties, turning to lead her on, tail wrapping up around his stomach as he did. Right now there was little need to ride her, walking was a perfectly fine option, with this though came the need to avoid having his extra limb stood on with one of her heft feet. He knew pretty freaking well that was liable to shatter the delicate vertebrae in it. Better safe than sorry, and with that in mind he simply followed on, wondering where the hell he was actually getting dragged to.

[Sanr]

With all things settled and the two humans at his tail and out of his shop Magidemus began to bar the door to his shop being sure to be a little over zealous in its protection, no needled finger human being able to make it within the walls while someone of greater strength and greater show will need entry. With that the neighboring shop owners, their pockets laden with a bit of coin for their watchful eyes would raise alarm. The snerf would do much to secure his home and his livelihood.

When he turned a small smile could not help but twitch at the corner of his heavy lips. Cora had grown quite a bit and has become a quite beautiful filly in her own right.. if she had been of the folk Magi may have taken a bit more of a romantic interest in her.. but alas she had the brain of a common dog besides her beauty. In the short month he had owned the creature, while frustrated with her disobedience a small warmth had grown within his heard for her. Reaching out a taloned claw to ruffle the long mane that rested between her ears the male Greeted her.

“I see your training has done her well Mordy.. you have kept her healthy and well fed.. and his has grown in to quite beauty” There was a small tone of lonely sorrow in the snerf’s words.. being the only one of his kind even he knew about.. if only she could speak with him…

With a shake of his long head such thoughts were erased from his mind and Magi re secured the straps that held his large sac to his bag. Indeed it could fit several humans inside if he wished such a thing and right now it lay over his back only half full. Its content being of various tools, books ropes, even a bedroll of a creature of his size and a good chunk of canvass to keep him dry if the rains should come to them on their journey.

“I hope each of you got introductions out of the way and have started on the path of becoming great friends because once we board the ship.. and reach the mountains there is a good trek for us on foot… Mordy with Cora… I hope you, Ax will be able to keep up. The mountains are natural footing for a snerf’s hooves and them being much faster than the feet of a man… With a few coin from your pocket We could find you a proper mount before we leave?” With his long ears perked Magi turned giving a sideways glance to Bax curious if he would be taken up on the offer. Magi had always been proud of the strength of his kind Folk or not.

It wouldn’t be long until they reached the docks where the airships were tethered whether grounded or already floating.. Magi wondered in passing if the caption knew if he was of the folk or not or if she expected three men and a riding snerf along with supplies along her vessel… It would be interesting to see how his two companions would think of a fairy joining them and not only that one of the female persuasion. Their little group was going to be interesting no matter which way it was looked like and he hoped that the bonds forged in coin between them all would not whether too many arguments and too much trouble within.

(you can Post now Bloody if you want... after Gearr or wedge your own place if you beat someone :3 Perhaps have her waiting on us or preparing her ship?)

[Bloody]

A slew of loud cursing could be heard coming out of the engine room, some of the language was rather colorful and extremely vibrant.

Riley kicked the engine with a booted foot, which sent it roaring into action. "HAHAH! She lives!" she roared, and ran out of the engine room to mind the sails. Running an airship on your lonesome meant a lot of running from ship part to ship part. Otherwise things could quickly get out of control, she dashed to the main deck expertly gathering the sail ropes and securing them so the airship would not float off without her precious passengers.

She had heard of her employer more than once, and in a round about way had dealt with him before. Trading things with people who traded things with him. Magidemus reputation had preceded him, he was a treasure hunter and a blackmarket guru. Of course the pirate knew who he was, she was old, she had been in the business twice as long as any of these humans. Though she knew Magidemus was of the Folk, a snerf in fact. How unique.

Riley had accepted the contract gladly, Magidemus by reputation was damn good at finding things that were worth a lot. She liked things that were worth a lot. So when she heard about the expedition she snapped the opportunity up readily, offering her airfare cheaply in exchange for a share of whatever was found. She liked flying, but she liked coin better.

It wasn't long till she saw them, or at least what she assumed to be them. A large snerf wearing a monocle and carrying several huge bags, two human men, one had long light red hair and a wiry runners build. He led a brown streaked riding snerf by it's bridle. The other was a sour looking red head, of thicker build and greater height than the other. Riley of course towered over both of them, as was in her races nature. Humans were so strangely tiny. She secured the ropes she was messing with in a hasty but effecient knot than walked over to the side of her ship. Her boots clicking on the wooden boards.

Riley was grinning ear to ear as she leaned over the side. "Well Well! I see ol' Magi's as reliable as they say." Her ship was nothing ornate or fancy, but she was a beauty. Pine wood, stained dark, built the sides and masts of the thing. It's streamlined shape showed off that it was a ship intended for speed. The dark orange sails were positioned to provide maximum maneuverability, and the lift balloons were already inflated with the hot air needed to fly. "Come aboard boys!" she turned to walk away when she realized one important thing, they had no way to get up here.

Riley threw the boarding ladder over the side with a loud chuckle. "Sorry bout that. I forgot ya'll can't fly up here. I'll lower the loading deck in a sec for you snerfs." She entertained the notion that Magi could likely climb the ladder with a little fancy footwork, but it would be much simpler and faster to load the snerfs up on the lowerable deck that was meant for such things. Riley walked off to busy herself with the complex machinery of the loading deck, a loud grinding of cogs reverberating in the air as the wide wooden dock lowered down to ground level. Then a soft thump as it hit the ground.

She then went to lean against the mast, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for them to climb aboard.

This was going to be fun.

[Baxley]

Baxley paused at the mentioning of the climate and the subtle warning that he really should claim himself a mount, at least for the journey ahead of them. He hummed thoughtfully and crossed his arms over his chest again, sending Magi a sidelong glance as he did so before flicking over to the other man's snerf. It was true that if it came to it he would be left behind due to his lack of transportation. However, did he really want to bother with a snerf? He hadn't owned one in a long time now.

Quietly he nodded his head and adjusted his path along the way, calling back as he did say. "You two go on. I'll buy one and meet you at the docks before we're supposed to leave." It wouldn't be a problem for him to buy one as he had brought ample supplies with him for whatever he might need. Magi's warning though did jar a sense of unease in the man and he decided he would get one for the journey as a just in case plan. He'd rather have to deal with the damn beast rather than slow their expedition up too much by being on foot. If need be he could easily sell the thing back or sell it to someone else along the way back home after the trip was done for.

Finding a merchant selling the beasts was no problem in a city like this. Finding the right beast, however, would be the hardest part of the entire process. Baxley was rather picky when it came to his possessions that would change his appearance. Even geared up to hunt or sell his clothing was still intricate to look at. Muted in color terribly so, but still designed to be beautiful up close. In his mind Baxley wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect for him. This beingsaid; snerf fur, at least from the merchant he was at, did not impress him. They were rather plain looking. Shades of greys and browns, patterns that looked bland or just didn't click with him. They were all so boring and uninteresting. He'd seen some beautiful snerfs in his life, but none of these could be qualified as such.

He was getting rather annoyed by the time the merchant brought forth something that wasn't a brown or grey color. In fact, it was rather odd compared to the other beasts. White and black striped with a creamy color thrown on top of the white. A young bull from the looks of it. Frustrated by the other beasts, he ended up purchasing the bull and all the riding accessories all the while glaring and not really thinking too much into his purchase. This had taken far more time than he had expected it to, so when the bull was brought to him with the saddle ready and waiting he took no time into leaping onto its back and clicking the beast into full motion towards the docks. Leaving the merchant behind who was trying to instruct him how to ride the beast. He might not have had one in a while, but he still knew how to command it.

As he neared the docks he easily pointed out Magi within the crowd and pulled the bull towards them while calling out for the creature to slow itself to that lumbering walk they did. Baxley took his previous spot next to Magi without a word and looked straight ahead while grumbling under his mask lightly. This trip was turning out to be more than a pain than he had expected. Maybe he shouldn't have come after all, but that promise of great coin was extremely tempting.

Under him the snerf shuffled awkwardly as it slowed itself next to Magi and made a huffing sound that made Baxley frown and place a comforting hand on its head. He hadn't gotten to speak over the creature 's purchase much beyond learning it was trained in the usual manner to ride and carry heavy loads as all snerfs were and was named Kibo. So he was literally walking in blindly with the snerf having no clue how it would react to anything or anyone. Which was not something he normally did, but he'd been so frustrated he hadn't really thought it out as much as he normally would have. He sighed deeply and glanced up at the female calling towards them, grateful for the distraction no matter who or what it came from. It actually took him a moment to recognize what he was seeing.

So the captain of the ship was a fairy then? Baxley frowned thoughtfully but said nothing and just kept his head lowered while he waited on whatever she had decided to do. He would trust Magi to know what he was doing as he hadn't screwed Baxley over yet in all their time working together, but this was starting to get just a tad ridiculous even for him. When the wooden dock lowered his snerf let out a huffing sound again but at least it didn't dart off like Baxley thought it was about to do with the way it was moving around. Instead it stayed stone still and just kept huffing uneasily to which Baxley replied by stroking it's mane lightly trying to calm the beast down.

He could just tell this was going to be a long, long trip.

Baxley cast a glance over to the other two before quietly pushing the snerf forward towards the wooden dock with a sigh. The faster they got loaded up and ready to go, the faster they could get there and take care of business, and the faster they could get back home. He disliked the idea of leaving his home or his hidden workshop for to long and this trip was stretching that comfort level. He hadn't even left yet and he felt as if he'd been away for far too long. Which was, quiet frankly even to him, just plain ridiculous.

Oh well, at least this would shake up the Nivali a bit and those that had been tailing 'Ax' in the market places recently. Let them think he was gone or had been captured or retired or something silly like that. At least then when he came back they wouldn't be expecting him as much as they were right now. Maybe, if he was lucky, some little punk would be trying to take over his little spot in the markets and get himself caught, again, like they tried to do from time to time when he took 'breaks' to let the market place miss him. That was always so fun, especially because it did throw people off his tracks. You know... maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all.

[Gearr]

“I see your training has done her well Mordy.. you have kept her healthy and well fed.. and she has grown in to quite beauty.”

Yes well, he'd paid for her had he not? There was no way in hell he was going to let that money go to waste by leaving her as some skittish and feral brute. No, of course he'd had no intention of letting her like that, nor did he have any notions of mistreating her to get the point across. Often a time a gentle touch was more effective than a sharp hit, it was a simple matter of life. When the thing was bigger than you it was better not to piss it off, that was a logic that had cost many people a hell of a lot... And he had very little doubt that it would cost many more fools their lives. No, so far as he saw it... There was no point. The sombre tone though had him cocking his head. There was something almost wistful to it, though what it was he couldn't say exactly. Reading a snerf wasn't the easiest of tasks.

“I hope each of you got introductions out of the way and have started on the path of becoming great friends because once we board the ship.. and reach the mountains there is a good trek for us on foot… Mordy with Cora… I hope you, Ax will be able to keep up. The mountains are natural footing for a snerf’s hooves and them being much faster than the feet of a man… With a few coin from your pocket we could find you a proper mount before we leave?"

Friends? Ohhhh yes, the two apparently anti-so-- Waiiiiit... Ship? Paling slightly his grip tightened on the reigns of his companion as the other fellow left. No one had mentioned a damn ship to him! Though a lesser known fact it was a sad fact of life that Mordecai really wasn't all to good in the air. Ohhh by no means was he scared of heights, put him in the tallest of buildings and he was fine... Just as long as it wasn't moving. No, his problem was that he had a pretty damn aerial equivalent of sea sickness, he could not fly... Well actually fuck that, he was going to have to, there was no way about it. Perhaps the only thing he could be thankful for was that he'd yet to have anything to eat today. It also seemed that he wouldn't be eating whilst flying either, that would be a fairly bad idea unless he wanted to throw it right on back up... Oh gods above why had he agreed to this. He could deal with a lot of things... But flying was the true bane of his life.

"Well Well! I see ol' Magi's as reliable as they say. Come aboard boys!"

Finally setting eyes upon the abomination he cringed, an uneasy feeling already settling itself in his stomach. He really wasn't going to enjoy this, oh hells above what had he done. Working with strangers was one thing, he didn't care for it at all, but oh gods above this was worse! Snorting in detest at the whole thing he narrowed his eyes at the woman, bristling as something pushed a nose to the back of his neck before snorting, his hair flicking out. Rolling his eyes slightly he turned, coming face to face with Cora who was fast to shove her head against his chest, forcing him to step back with a huffing sigh. Something was bothering her. Rubbing the side of her head he cast his eyes behind him, it was one of two things. It was either that vile thing they called an airship, or it was his own mood. He wasn't sure which, yet casting a glance to Magi he offered a sour glare, the damn Snerf probably knew all about his issue... The bastard was no doubt revelling in it!

"Sorry bout that. I forgot ya'll can't fly up here. I'll lower the loading deck in a sec for you snerfs."

No, no, no! This wasn't happening! Tail uncoiling in an involuntary motion as he walked forward, up the ramp, it whipped out behind him, thrashing viciously behind him in a similar notion to that of an irritated cat. Through it all he'd ignored this Ax fellow's return blah blah blah, what the hell ever. He'd not been in the mood before, but now he was just plain old pissed off, something very clearly showing by his hunched posture, and general facial expression, despite the slightly ill look to him. Once on he'd secure Cora wherever gestured before sitting, leaning against the railing, arms folded as he turned to look away from every damn one of them. If this fairy thing thought he'd be helping on deck she'd be in for a very nasty surprise. Right now he was fine, but right now they were stationary... This was going to be a very long trip indeed.

[Sanr]

"You two go on. I'll buy one and meet you at the docks before we're supposed to leave."


Magi could not help but smirk his long ears flicking when he hears Ax’s comment. Aww it seemed the little human thought it best himself in the need of the strength of a mount’s back. It was in fact why Magi had pointed out his need. He had not told his companions everything they would be facing on their journey, in fact there was quite a bit he was keeping within that long head of his only to be shared at the point there was no turning back. He had already secured pay for them so in his mind there was not reason to be giving them reason to back out.

He had always know Ax as a little eccentric in his own right so when he heard the sniff of a snerf at his rear he turned seeing the creature who had been purchased… stripes.. on white… now that was a beast. Magi was sure if risen on to his hind legs it would be a good head taller than him and had much more muscle about his shoulders and back likely from years of hauling heavy loads.. something Magi gladly lacked. The beasts demeanor though did make the snerf uncomfortable as it snorted up eyes on him. What a beast…. Some part of him wondering if it was actually challenging him or not.

"Well Well! I see ol' Magi's as reliable as they say.Come aboard boys!"

With a small chuckling snort Magi rose his head high having much pride in his timeliness and reliability. If others believe they can reply on you the more coin landed in your pocket. A true thing to be told. She had heard many good things about this fairy but her actions did amuse him seeing that she didn’t spend much time on land with the creatures that resided there, such shown with her forgetfulness. He had to wonder idly how his companions would react to a woman joining them.. especially one who dwarfed them.

Ax seemed little bothered if not pissed by his movements.. but with that damned mask magi could never fully gage what was on the humans mind. But Mordecai on the other hand was agitated to no end… was he forgetting something… oh that was it… heh… it seems to have slipped his mind but if Magi remembered correctly Mordy hated flying. He had offered a flight in passing on one of their other exchanges and he had refused as strongly as a mute could Now this was going to be an extremely interesting journey to say the least. “Aw cammon Mordy its not going to be as terrible as your thinking.. its not a long trip to the mountains and we sill be back on the ground again before you know it!” With a cheery smile he turned his gaze back up to the ship caption as she spoke again.

"Sorry bout that. I forgot ya'll can't fly up here. I'll lower the loading deck in a sec for you snerfs."

with a nod of thanks to the female when she dropped the deck Magi would take no hesitation in to stepping aboard turning to face the others as they boarded around him . Perhaps three snerfs were a little too much for the wooden planks.. it had to be near ten thousand pounds with all three of them and the humans as well ignoring the ladder the fairy had lowered.. and all of their things. He wondered how much energy would be spent simply pulling them back up in to the ship or if it would even hold. Now that would be a damper on their trip.

“Ready to be hoisted mon capitan!” He called before falling on to all fours his knuckles knocking on the wood beneath them. He was going to miss his shop the next few months.. but things had to be done to keep her shelves well stocked and his pockets lines with coin.

(feel the suck T.T)

[Bloody]

Riley watched amusedly as the rag-tag bunch of people and snerfs all climbed aboard the loading dock. The two humans were ignoring her offered rope, maybe they felt they needed to stand with their mounts to prevent them from panicking when the ground moved underneath them. No worries though.

The redhead, the short skinny one, seemed rather apprehensive of the ship and caused Riley to chuckle dryly. No need to fear the sky, Captain Riley will get you where you need to go. Get you where your gettin' to as she would say. After leaning over the side grinning like an alley cat at the scared redhead, Riley hit the mechanism that controlled the loading dock with a booted foot and the gears grinded into action.

It was a slow ascent to the top, the gears grinding together at maximum efficiency to lift their combined weight. It stuttered once, the loading dock grinding to a halt and a slew of cursing could be heard from up on deck. "Goddamn thing," there was a loud clang noise which suggested the fairy threw something at the control panel and the platform came back to life. "It's a lotta weight, it doesn't generally do that." After the platform reached level with the deck, Riley would stride forward offering an outstretched hand to Magidemus, then the other two humans. She entertained the notion of trying to shake hands with the other two snerfs for silliness sake but decided against it.

"Captain Riley at your service." She wasn't sure she knew how to shake hand's with Magi, but she'd try it anyway, and leave the specifics of figuring out what to do with his three fingered hands up to him. If he didn't take the proffered hand she'd drop it with a shrug and go to the other men in turn. Staying to listen to their introduction and respond to anything they had to say.

After she was done with introductions to the people she'd walk to the mast of the ship and knock on the dark wood. "This lil' beauty is Windshark. Cheesy name I know, but hey, I like it."

With that out of the way, Riley would dash to the helm to put the airship into full drive. Disengaging the tether and letting the lift sails to their thing. She'd beckon Magi up to where she was; "So...How're we 'spose to find this place?" He hadn't sent her a map or anything, she really only knew it was in the mountains. Expectant yellow eyes would peer at the snerf, waiting for a reply The ship deck vibrated underfoot as if Windshark herself was excited to get going.

[Baxley]

Judging green eyes zeroed in on that thrashing red tail the very moment it started moving within Baxley's field of view. Behind his red mask his smirk was very quickly growing into a full fledge grin and he just barely kept himself from laughing outright at the man. So the mute one had a fear of flying up high... this could be a somewhat amusing trip then. At least he would have something to do then whenever boredom struck him. So long as he could catch him alone anyway. Baxley wouldn't dare try anything with Magi or the fairy within view.

Under his weight Kibo shuffled and grunted nervously when the loading dock halted and jarred him. The shuffling nearly dislodged Bax from the way the bull kept dancing back and forth, throwing his weight from side to side as if he was ready to bolt. Only experience on the beasts, as rusty as he was, kept him in his saddle. Gripping tightly with his legs and lowering himself over the beast, keeping his weight with the bull to keep from being thrown off. He would place a gentle hand over its head until it stopped and the dock started moving again.

Once on the ship he'd move Kibo off the dock and slide off the saddle to stand by the bull's side and pat it gently, frowning. What the hell was going on through the beast's head right now? It was still acting strangely. Shuffling and grunting, huffing and pawing the ground like it was agitated with something. Baxley ignored Magi and Mordy as they did their introductions with the fairy. Focusing on trying to calm his mount down.

When the fairy approached him Baxley hesitated at the offering of her hand. Goggle covered eyes flicking from her outstretched hand up to her face and then back. He disliked people greatly, but if he was to survive these months with them then he might as well be as social as he could be. "Call me Ax," He took her hand and shook it briefly then pulled back and promptly seemed to forget about her in favor of the snerf again.

Out of one ear he kept an ear open on the conversations going on around him. Learning what he could about the ship and his forced companions for the trip. Never piping in or making it obvious he was even paying attention really. Seemingly to involved with his snerf and his bags to give a damn. It wasn't until Riley dashed off to put the ship into action that Bax deigned to even turned towards them. Only because he was curious how they were getting there anyway. He was really putting a lot of trust in Magi. The snerf better pray he didn't fuck it up.

[Sanr]

When the platform began to lift Magi couldn’t help but sniff a little nervously in his own right his fists clenching when it stalled with them hanging in the air. He would not admit it to the others but as a heavily land mammal air and sea travel did him little good.. even if he was doing to pick on Mordy for the similar affliction. Once the loading dock was secured and Magi was free to move about the deck he did so gladly grinning slightly when the captain reached for his claw of a hand. Many humans and other creatures often had a bit of a curiosity to go about pleasantries but the best way to handle them he had learned was to act as if he had a full hand. He reached foreword wrapping as best he could his long fingers around her hand. The fur that touched her skin was presently soft compared to the callused outside knuckles that all snerf walked on. With a gentle up and down motion the Shake was done and he nodded to his companions as the caption introduced herself to them.

Magi’s eyes wandered over Ax and Mordy as they met the third and final member of their party… a female was an interesting adage of course. When they were busy with that the snerf moved carefully towards what he assumed was the stern moving on all fours. He remembered one horrid moment on a deck of a ship when his feet broke though the water aged wood and he almost went tumbling down with the cargo… something like that would be very unpleasant to experience again. He looked up when he was joined by Riley and smiled the long faced snerf smile nodding to her. “Well first my dear we are to head off to the mountains… and then” The beast reached back to one of his thigh satchels and frowned looking up for a second. Within the leather was a folded map… but with meat clods grabbing such a thing would be a little difficult without spilling the contence out over the deck… Ax seemed Busy and Mordy was making himself scarce so… well he was going to have to trust the girl in the end was he not?

“if you could my dear… there is a map in my satchel… and with my lack of those wondrous appendages you and humans call thumbs I am sad to say I will have trouble retrieving it… please… be careful not to bother any of my other belongings…” it was the best friendly warning Magi could muster his ears flicking forward a round eye watching her curiously. Within the satchel would lay a few bags of coin…and several other articles besides a decent sized square of tattered paper. Once retrieved and unfolded it would show a scribbled diagram in black ink of the mountains a peacock blue line showing a trail though the mountains ending in a large blob somewhere in the middle. Magi had taken great care in drawing this map himself.. hence why the scale would be a little large by the eyes of humans.. and the writing over it a hard to read scrawl.

“That is our destination…..we need to fly as close to that as possible”

(and with that crappy post (gear told me to go on and skip her) the fun begins… from here please feel free to add in whatever shit happening you want.. lol this is to be an adventure for all! Bloody you can time skip to us making it to the mountains or not its up to you.)

[Bloody]

Riley watched the snerf expectantly for his hesitant reply... "Well first my dear we are to head off to the mountains… and then” An eyebrow twisted up, "And then what?" she interupted. Her yellow eyes peering down her bony nose. “if you could my dear… there is a map in my satchel… and with my lack of those wondrous appendages you and humans call thumbs I am sad to say I will have trouble retrieving it… please… be careful not to bother any of my other belongings…” A smile burst into creation on Riley's face, a sneaky smile. Pretty but it immeadiately showed she was up to no good. The snerf didn't trust her, that was smart. She didn't even trust herself.

Nevertheless, she would get into the bag and search for the map. Her deft hands doing the impossible for the snerf. Man, Magi had a lot of crap in here. A money pouch, some food, a money pouch, a change of enormous snerf clothes, a money pouch. How much money did this damn Folk have? After a few seconds of fishing she found the folded map, and crouched down on deck to lay it out on the wooden floorboards. It was crudely drawn, but accurate enough at a glance. She suspected that Magidemus had drawn it himself, which couldn't be easy when you couldn't even get things out of your own bags.

She traced the blue line with her fingertips, "Alrighty, looks easy enough. Should be able to get there in a matter of hours." She'd fold the map back up, somewhat carelessly and then brusqly tuck it down t fheront of her bodice. She'd then take the wheel of the ship, and bring it up to full speed with a few expert lever pulls and sail maneuvering. She watched the land ahead carefully, if there was one thing Riley could do it was fly.

It was also one of the few things she really really enjoyed. At least...one of the few things that was legal.

The fairy would stay silent for most of the trip, not to worried about her passengers comfort or other things. She'd respond to anything they said to her, quickly and concisely. Then Riley would turn her hawk-like eyes back to the skies ahead of them. Occasionally pulling the map out of her bodice to check the path. In a few hours, they were in the mountains. In a few more minutes, they were close to the point Magi had scribbled on the map.

"Oi! Magi!" she called out across deck, rousing the snerf from whatever he was doing. "It okay if I set her down right here? Up ahead it looks a little to uneven to land."

She'd wait for the snerf's reply, and if he confirmed it was okay she would immediately set about the landing gear.

[Baxley]

The trip thus far had been boring to the point Baxley had nearly fallen asleep. Leaning precariously against the railing until the sound of Magi walking about had stirred him enough that he had realized his position. No one had seemed to notice though. All to busy keeping to themselves or trying to figure out just where they were headed. Paranoia sparked in his mind, however, and once it dug its roots within his mind he couldn't shake the feeling, nor was he remotely tired anymore.

If he fell asleep before they did, they could remove his mask. If they did that, they could rat him out to the authorities. Baxley couldn't--wouldn't--let that happen. Too much was at risk to be careless enough to leave himself vulnerable. Even if Magi was a 'friend', he didn't trust the snerf.

Casually Baxley pushed himself off from the railing and strolled away seemingly without a care. A lie, his insides churned with paranoia induced turmoil. He felt sick and light headed. Unable to focus, and yet still trying to grasp at the fading focus even as he started to wander aimlessly about the ship.

Why did he agree to this again?

Baxley thought back to his agreement to do this and wished he could have given himself a swift kick in the ass for being such a damn fool. He couldn't do this. Spending days and nights for three months among these people he did not trust, constantly within his Ax persona, never able to drop it without fear of being gutted. This was ridiculous. He was an idiot. Just plain and simple, he was a fucking idiot.

It was nearly effortless for him to slip into his silent, stealthy mindset even with his thoughts being such a jumbled mess. A defense he had learned so long ago. Blend into the shadows, disappear without a word or sound. There were many times there Magi or the other would just be walking in his general direction and Baxley would just seemingly walk around a corner or duck behind something and vanish all together. He'd stay this way until they were wherever they were heading. Baxley wouldn't dare stick his head out for too long, not while he was on edge like this.

He didn't want to accidentally end up jabbing a knife into one of their stomachs for walking too close to him, all because he was being a paranoid bastard right now.

[Bloody]

Bump? Is this going to be continued ):?