[h3]Captain Drystan[/h3]

As Drystan moved himself over to an empty table near the far wall of the hall, he had to pause, interrupted by a charismatic woman dressed in house garb. He stared at her, looking rather unamused by her addition to his own speech. He pursed his lips, glancing over at one of the guards standing to his side. They exchanged a look that could only be described as the physical manifestation of an eye roll. He continued on his way to the table and took a seat, pulling out the parchment order from King Gustav. He unrolled the parchment and flattened it out, leaning his arm on it.

Taking a relaxed stance, he waited for the maiden to finish her speech. What her true motives were, he couldn't say. He also couldn't decide how he felt about the whole situation. He wasn't about to interrupt her, as she had gathered quite the crowd, but he also wasn't particularly fond of the idea of having a bunch of ill-trained commoners fumbling over their swords only to get themselves killed. Then again, the city was getting a bit crowded...

He was pulled out of his thoughts as she finally finished her crowd-gathering speech. People began approaching, interested in going after this sea creature. His interest turned to a bard approaching him, bringing up an interesting point. [color=silver]"The Seaward Bard?"[/color] he repeated. [color=silver]"I take it you know your way around a ship? We need someone like that for this mission."[/color] He leaned forward, grabbing a quill and jotting a few things down. [color=silver]"Do you have any experience fighting? I don't often see bards out swinging swords."[/color]



He slammed the quill down on the table and got to his feet. [color=silver]"Alright. Information is out there. I'm going to the docks now. Anyone who wants to fight, meet us there."[/color] He glanced around the large room before signaling to the guards standing near him. He made his way through the crowd, keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword.

His boots clapped on the cobblestone once he got outside. He ignored the commoners that had gathered as if they were nothing. He walked with a purpose, his long strides swiftly guiding him through the streets. A gloved hand slowly reached towards his belt, finding a small glass bottle. He plucked it off his belt, the greenish liquid inside sloshing around. He popped the cork out of the opening and brought it to his lips. He downed it in one gulp and tossed the now empty bottle aside.

It was a relatively long walk to the docks, almost the full length of the city. It was still bustling once he arrived, fishermen, ship captains and plenty of dock workers going about their daily business. Drystan stopped at the water's edge, listening to the waves lap at the wooden beams. He gazed out across the waters at the small island out in the distance. It was there that the creature was said to live. He had arranged for a medium-sized boat and it's captain to meet them at the dock. Sure enough, the ship captain was just stepping off onto the docks. He was a grizzled old man with a long, unkempt beard. A strong smell of salt wafted over towards Drystan as he approached.

[color=silver]"Oye! Hello there, sir. There she is: The Rancid Eel. She may not be the prettiest girl, but she will get the job done. I'm trusting you with her now, boy. I'll be heartbroken if she goes down."[/color]

With an audible grunt, Drystan nodded slightly, staring out at the sea. [color=silver]"I'm paying you good money either way."[/color]