North Sea Dungeon

The civilian boats the scout party were made to use were nothing like the ornate ships that had earned the Dungeon Investigation Unit its diminutive nickname; they were rather plain, often filled with other passengers who didn't notice anything amiss so long as the convicts stayed out of the way. It was imperative to remain undercover from the western kingdom to their destination—though the elves feared no one, they also knew that advance warning of their arrival often gave people time to hide things. Unless a situation was fully understood, it was better to slip in unseen, gather information, and slip back out or summon the full unit.

Still—pride in his job notwithstanding, Tythis hated the civilian boats. Being treated like a commoner was one thing, but being cramped in a small space with Vaako and Loscan both was another entirely. It wasn't that he disliked their company (far from it, much as he refused to admit as such); more that keeping a level head in those situations was difficult, and there was no multi-week trip thus far that hadn't had him snapping at their throats by the end of it.

This trip was a little different, though. They were the only ones going where they were going. A few days before the boat was set to arrive on the shore of the Golden Country, the three of them transferred onto a much smaller one, breaking off from the original path to instead head for the North Sea Island.

When he was on "active duty", Tythis's full title was Scout Captain Tythis, to distinguish him from the other captain ranks. Unlike those other captains, it was a title he didn't stick to, nor did he demand its use. He couldn't—they were usually undercover, after all. As the boat docked along the island's port, Tythis took a steadying breath. He wasn't a captain now, or for the foreseeable future. He was just an adventurer.

"Thanks for the ride," he said to the boat's owner as he stepped out onto the dock, pack of supplies slung over one shoulder. "Get in contact with House Peiel, they'll pay you for the trouble." Or not, but that wasn't his problem. The sailor had been tense the whole ride, anyway; staying quiet didn't do much to hide the oddities in Tythis's companions. Surely he was happy to just be rid of them.

Unfolding a map that he'd kept tucked in his satchel, Tythis stood closer to Vaako to hopefully block some of the cold sea wind that was trying to rip the parchment from his hands. "Ugh. This place looks just as rural as the map implied. If we're lucky, something horrible in the dungeon will make this whole trip worth our time."

The ride had been long and bothersome to Loscan. Perhaps, in other's eyes, the sea breeze would be refreshing and the gentle rock of the boat soothing, but the salt had done nothing but bite at his sensitive skin and make him feel sick. Not that the other members of his squadron could tell he looked any more strange and sickly than he usually did. Staying quiet and out of the way was what he tried his best to do, yet he could feel the other passengers on the ship regarding him and his companions strangely. He had his reservations about this scouting mission on the fringes of the Golden Kingdom's reach, but that wasn't the problem of the higher ups that sent them here.

The mantle of his cloak billowing in the wind, Loscan shielded his eyes as he looked out across the port. Hanging slightly behind Tythis, they all took in their first opinions of this island. To him, such a place looked homey, familiar in a comforting way. But he supposed a highborn elf from a House would see it as a backwater town. In a smooth motion, he tugged his hood further down his head. "At the very least... It better be interesting." He muttered, shouldering his meager belongings. Loscan knew better than to speak 'something horrible' into existence. "Where are we headed?"

Vaako wasn’t overly fond of traveling by ship, but it was something he’d grown rather used to over the years working with Tythis, and now Loscan. The space on the ship was a bit cramped and tight, leaving little room to breathe, metaphorically speaking. Vaako knew good and well how Tythis could get in situations like this and just did his best not to let it get under his own skin. It was nothing new to him, and he didn't take most of his Captain’s snark personally anyways. Vaako hadn’t initially been assigned to work with Tythis, having been sent on various missions with a rotation cast of members of the DIU, but when Vaako and Tythis did their first job together it had been immediately clear that they worked well together, and part of that was Vaako’s ability to let Tythis be Tythis.

Something about this new assignment though, it made Vaako’s whole body light up with excited nerves. He couldn’t put his finger on why, but he had the feeling this would be an interesting one, especially with the newer addition to their party. It wasn’t their first mission with Loscan, but he had settled right into their little dynamic and Vaako was endlessly intrigued by him.

When the ship finally made port, relief settled in the elf’s chest like a deep breath, though he knew it meant their work would be beginning. He stood on the land, just off the dock and stretch his arms over his head with a low satisfied hum, joints cracking pleasantly. When Tythis moved to stand closer to Vaako, wind whipping over the parchment in his grasp, Vaako turned just slightly to help keep more of the wind off of him. When he did so, he caught sight of Loscan, who maybe looked a little worse for wear - though it was always a bit hard to tell with the other beastman.

“Interesting would be good,” Vaako agreed with Loscan, surveying the island himself. It didn’t look like much, but he could see activity in the town, and there was the smell of something wafting their direction and mingling with the salty sea air that Vaako’s sharp senses picked up on.

“Where ever we’re headed, can we get something to eat? I’m ravenous and something smells divine.”

Tythis made a dismissive sound, leaning ever-so-slightly closer to Vaako. To stay out of the wind. "I guess we're getting food. Then I think we have to register with the island... We weren't provided a fairy this time because we'll be supplied with some here. I'll have to connect it to the unit back home." He peered over the top of the map for a moment, then started to fold it back up, doing it wrong twice before finally managing to get it to lay correctly along all its creases. "I've got the funds to secure us a room at one of the inns, but it looks like there's a flophouse? How... barbaric."

He tucked the map back into his satchel, then hefted his pack higher up on his shoulder. There was no sure sense of how long this trip would be; some dungeons were more mundane than others, and the level of activity would determine the length of their stay. According to Tythis's intel, this one hadn't even been fully explored yet—there was no telling what awaited them on the lower floors.

"Lead the way," Tythis sighed, gesturing towards the town with his eyes on Vaako. "May as well put those animal senses to good use." He turned to Loscan then, reaching back to tap him on one upper arm as a gesture to get moving. "Until we know more about the community, both of you stay close. Some of these backwater hicks get really touchy about beast-men." They knew that, of course—they both lived that life every day, and neither of them were new to this job—but Tythis felt it necessary to say anyway.

Stay close was the important part. Arguably, it was more for his sake than theirs.

A flophouse didn't sound all that bad to Loscan. Spreading out a bedroll on any frame would be good enough for him, but for Tythis? Perhaps it would be better for everyone involved if their Captain just got his way and got slightly better beauty sleep and lodging. He turned his head, idly taking note of the activity at the docks as Tythis and Vaako talked their plans. As with any settlement near a newer dungeon, this one was bound to explode in population. They were likely among the first real waves of interested adventurers, which meant they only had so much time to cache the dungeon before things could get messy.

To be honest, the thought of talking to more people the way you would need to when arriving somewhere new made his skin crawl. It had been far too long on the sea, and he wasn't looking forward to the brand new eyes on all of them. First, staring at their haughty leader, that signature smile that appeared on his face whenever he was talking to someone he wanted something from. Then, Vaako, who cared naught of hiding his identity as a beastman, perhaps even touting it. Finally, him, their curiosities piqued by the man before. Then they'd come to the natural conclusion of that he was one as well... And then the locals would think worse of all of them.

Loscan is brought back to reality when Tythis touched his arm, shrinking back on pure instinct. With wide eyes, he glances between his companions, parsing what Tythis had said. Stay close. He knew. "Y-Yes, sorry..." He nods, turning his face away once more. Wherever they would go, Loscan would fall quietly in step behind them, ever the gloomy shadow. There wasn't much to look forward to here on this island.

... But food sounded nice.

Vaako suppressed a smile watching Tythis struggle slightly to fold the map properly, then adjusted his own pack on his shoulder. He nodded along to mentions of fairies and lodging, though he was by and large distracted by whatever he was smelling - some kind of grilled meat, maybe. He rolled his eyes at the mention of his ‘animal instincts’, a well used rib that never seemed to get old, and watched as Loscan was brought back to their conversation.

When Tythis mentioned staying close, Vaako huffed and rolled his eyes again. “Yes, Captain.” He knew Tythis had his own way of showing care for the other two, even if he would die before admitting it. Still, Vaako wasn’t all that worried. Sure, he stuck out like a sore thumb, given his striking appearance, but it didn’t bother him. A little attention wasn’t always a bad thing, and he could more than hold his own if someone tried to cause trouble. Though he was sure Tythis would prefer trouble be avoided completely.

Still, his mind was on food, and Tythis had given the go ahead to seek it out, so Vaako turned towards the town. There were a few buildings fairly close by, but Vaako was sure that wasn’t where the smell was coming from. He gave a few deep inhales, then started toward a path that looked like it would take them to the town square. “This way, I think.”

Tythis followed behind Vaako (with a wordless glare for the Captain moniker), glancing back once or twice to make sure Loscan was following. It wasn't usually an issue—Loscan was obedient, if nothing else—but in a new area, Tythis liked to keep his eye on the both of them as best he could. He was supposed to do that all the time, after all. Not that he generally did.

Small as their party was, Tythis was trusted, above all else, to keep his convicts in line. When working with larger groups, he ran a tighter ship, but when they were on missions like these (the sorts they excelled in, that this team was made for), he worried about it less. They did what he told them to and always came back when gone from his sight for any length of time—it came easily to assume they'd continue doing so. Some part of him knew it was foolish, and he'd certainly put Loscan under a fair bit of scrutiny when he first joined the party, but he also knew that they were more likely to obey if they didn't do so out of resentment or fear.

(...Well. Most things Loscan did seemed to be out of fear, but it wasn't like Tythis was intentionally stoking that flame.)

"I hope the food here is good," Tythis groused as they made their way down the path, between buildings and past a sparse amount of other people. "I'd kill someone for an actual meal. Just thinking about what we've been eating the past few weeks turns my stomach."

"I could say that for the past few weeks in general." Loscan mumbled to himself, a finger to his chin as he peered around. Just another quirk of his body language, shoulders drawn up and back hunched like he was trying to take up the least amount of space as possible. Tythis and Vaako had been around him long enough to be familiar with how he carried himself, even if it did make him appear more suspicious. As they walk, Loscan's eyes pass over some of the stalls around the port, set up with people's fresh catches and other miscellany. They likely wanted to capitalize on any new arrivals. Humming in thought to himself, he quickens his pace to better address the other men, looking over his shoulder at them.

"On an island like this, they probably only have more seafood... But they should be able to cook it in more ways." He pointed out. His strange, tired eyes fix on Vaako in particular. " V-Vaako, can you pick out any smells in particular?" Loscan asks in a way that made it clear he still felt strange about using either of their names. He pauses for a beat. "Um. Maybe bread...?" He tacks on, trying not to sound too interested in the prospect. Just asking for the Captain.