Meryl regarded the proceedings carefully. From atop a large, shaded wooden crate she studied each of the new crewmembers while keeping the ship’s manifest within view. It was an oddly shaped vessel compared to the tri-hull catamarans that her people preferred. As it bobbed gently in the dock, it seemed top-heavy with its single hull and aligned masts. The Captain and some of the rabble he had managed to recruit were quite a contrast as well. Their clothes were heavy and carried a worn formality that appeared nonsensical to her. They seemed more a people conditioned to conquer the water rather than to let it work with them. As they labored some of the men gazed up occasionally at her perch. Some were quizzical, others uncaring and some looked on with more base motivations. Her returned glance was even and unmoving as the port breeze moved her hair gently. 

She was moderately surprised at how easy it had been to gain access to the foreign ship. She observed a few locals had enlisted in the crew when they first assembled on deck. There was no one that she knew among them and if they had known of her they had chosen not to speak. Her father’s reputation was still heavy on land and sea and his reach had not shortened in his rumored retirement. She had likewise inherited many of his contacts and had been told of an unusual ship making port in the South along with rumors of a shipwrecked crew on one of the barrier islands. Their ship, interestingly, had been of a similar design. Normally, such circumstance would have been of little interest to her, but the uncommon variables in this one had piqued her curiosity. This Captain had been at just the right place and time to pick up this forlorn crew. 

The presence of another female was also a particular point of interest. Meryl knew the woman was not local to the port and unlike the others had not received any tasking from the Captain after their initial assembly. Instead, she had reported directly to the man’s quarters without reappearing until the latest announcement to gather at the Tavern… and received a generous change in clothes as well. As the sun blazed down into the orange cast of late evening, she hopped down from the crate as the other woman disembarked mentally noting how she had waited for most of the others to depart before emerging. Meryl nodded cordially enough, eyes slightly narrowed, as they passed on the gangway. The contrast between the two was evident: Meryl wearing the islanders' light mid-calf cut trousers, sleeveless blouse and simple thong sandals and the other woman in a full dress. Meryl proceeded on board to check on how the cargo had been stored.

Resisting the urge to explore further than the duty required, Meryl quietly made her rounds about the hold and when satisfied returned to the deck. Save for two guards posted, she was the last member of the crew to depart as the final vestiges of daylight had nearly disappeared. She flipped a silver coin to each man before leaving. “Keep my ship safe while I’m out, ya?” She said with a grin. “I’ll be back in a wink.” The men looked on puzzled as Meryl disappeared with lantern in hand, but each pocketed a coin that would translate into several drinks the next time someone else drew guard duty.