Snippet #2770439

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It had taken some convincing to have Vernon take her to Dragon’s Cove. After all, the crew had a close enough call in their first dragon encounter; not to mention their ship was in a state of disrepair thanks to that monster. Still, with enough pleading and the promise that they’d at least be able to moor and conduct repairs, Vernon relented. He didn’t exactly believe her nonsense about some ‘voices in her head calling for aid’ - after all, she was a bit of a ditz – but their personal lady luck had never lead them astray since her arrival. He’d have to trust that there was some reason she felt compelled to go there.

Docking near the beach as they dropped the anchor, Vernon looked with some trepidation at the number of other boats that had arrived. Dragon’s Cove wasn’t exactly a common trade route, so the fact that so many ships were here was an omen indeed. Assigning the crew to their repair tasks and promising to be quick, Vernon and Carmen dropped the rowboat and began to head for shore. Not that Vernon needed to do any rowing. Sliding gracefully off the back of the boat and holding onto the stern; there was a brief flash of pinkish red light before Carmen underwent her transformation. With her large tail, it was a simple matter for the mermaid to push the small ship to the beach, the girl changing back to her human form once she could get some traction in the sand.

After securing their ship into place, the duo slowly made their way over to the others – Vernon with folded arms and Carmen with hers eagerly in front of her. Seeing so many people, Vernon subconsciously felt the weight on his back, the bundle of weapons ready to be used at a moment’s notice in case things turned sour. Still, these individuals didn’t look particularly threatening, except perhaps that winged woman or the elf with the faint red eyes. No, the more pressing concern was the den of beasts behind the winged woman, the dragons eying them all with caution. If they decided to attack, things could get ugly, so Vernon, despite his nonchalant posture, remained ready. Not being particularly social, Vernon took place following just behind Carmen as the Mermaid hurried forward to introduce herself.

“Hey everybody! I’m Carmen and this is Vernon. I was having these weird dreams and things, but like, this proves I’m not crazy, right? Something’s going on here, yeah? Does anyone know what’s going on? Who’s in charge?” At those words, there was some ruffling as a parchment was flapped a couple of times in the wind. Looking over, Carmen made her way over to the somewhat intimidating looking woman holding the paper and took hold of it to have a read. The opportunity was short lived, as Vernon moved up and ruffled her hair, distracting the mermaid long enough for him to pilfer the parchment and give it a read.

Ignoring the already present squabbling between what appeared to be some reuniting siblings, Vernon gave his own ‘insightful’ comments to their supposed leader. “How do you even pronounce that? I almost suffocate just looking at it.” Grunting a bit as Carmen shoved him in the side with a look that said ‘don’t be rude’, Vernon sighed. “More importantly, I don’t believe or care about gods, lords or any of that crap. What I do care about is some young broad who can’t even give orders without a parchment trying to play Captain. You want me to follow you?” Vernon took a step back, cracking his knuckles. “Then make me submit.”

“Vernon! Stop being an ass! Geez!” Carmen huffed, tugging on Vernon’s arm and waving her hand in a calming gesture. “Ignore him. He’s uh… Special. Dropped on the head as a baby. Real Tragedy. We’re all coming to terms with it…” Trailing off mournfully, Carmen was clearly poking fun. Soon enough, Vernon shrugged free of Carmen, shaking his head and turning his back to the group. “Whatever. Once we find out what you’re here for and the ship is repaired, we’re setting sail.” Taking a few more steps away onto a rock, Vernon took some time to appraise the group, but all the while, his eyes continued to watch the dragons. Perhaps there would be some challenge here after all.

Still standing and grinning to herself happily, Carmen briefly glanced behind her to see a couple more newcomers. Seeing as the Elves were having a hugfest, and the other trio with the pink haired lass were already talking amongst themselves, maybe she’d go make friends with the latest arrivals? Skipping over towards the beach, Carmen went to make her intentions known. “Yo! I’m Carmen, what-“ Cutting herself off as the pretty lady ran off to… Return favour to the ocean. Not wanting to draw attention to her failed conversation starter, the mermaid kind of awkwardly stood between all the parties, only slowly making her way over once the woman returned.

“Take two! Yo ho ho, I’m Carmen. Do you guys hear voices in your head too?” Not paying attention to how bad that sounded out of context, Carmen continued, leaning in towards the female of the pair. “Also, you’re looking a bit pale. If the sea ails ya, I probably have some home remedies back on my ship. I’m like, second in command and the navigator, so I’m kind of a big deal.” Attempting to talk herself up, Carmen had her hands on her hips standing proudly. After all, she’d recently stopped a dragon attack. She was totally officially a big deal now. Hopefully they’d be impressed.