Collab between Sigma and Draco.

[b][u]Heimyal Docks[/u][/b]
Firgus and Olaf pushed their way through the frenzied crowds as the booming voices of the treemen of the Emerald Empire rang in the air as they made their irresistible offer to the warriors of Clan Brakor.

Having arrived abore a flotilla of living carraks and longships only moments earlier and their two leaders, a dryad male and female wearing old yet well maintained Shenran platemail, had both immediately begun telling anyone and everyone who could hear them about the reason they were here.

“...in slow moving baggage trains” the man was saying “winding its way through rugged terrain, ripe for ambush.“ 

“Bounties for Vitium soldiers and their equipment” explained the woman to others, gesturing enthusiastically with a fistful of gold coins “or keep some of it to use for yourself” she thumped her fist against the breastplate that had presumably been peeled of the corpse of some long dead knight “its quality stuff, but the bastards don’t know how to use it proper. Never worked a day in their lives I’ll bet, got slaves to do that for em.”

The two were stood atop what appeared to be a small pile of trunks. Heavy, and heavily guarded, trunks. Those guards were a number of ironbark armored dryads who formed a loose perimeter around the chests in order to ensure the Brakor respected of their leaders personal by forming a physical barrier to shield the speakers from jostling that might distract them from their showmanship.

Firgus had caught only but a fraction of what the dyrads had spoken of, but it was quite clear what they had came for. He scanned his surroundings, searching for his daughter, and much to his relief, she was within sight, her eyes turned their gaze upon her father, and was met with a wide smile. "Father!" She exclaimed, rushing over to his side, Farald not too far behind. They had a brief embrace as they turned their attention towards the new visitors. "My chieftain." Farald spoke. "The treemen, they offer us a great bounty to the South!"

"It' true!" Elina agreed. "War is coming! And the treemen need the warband!"

Firgus was speechless for the most part, caught off guard with this revelation, part of him was proud his daughter will soon become a true warrior, this war proving to be her Tarkiman baptism of fire...but this as well worries him. "Father?" Elina said, her facial expression was one of mild concern for Firgus' silence. "It's fine my child." He reassured her. "I just worry for you, this will be a hard battle to come, in more ways then one." He said, referring to the dilemma regarding Vitium. The Slaver Guilds of Clan Brakor are among the more powerful blocs within the Brakor Hierarchy, amassing riches from their trade with the Cities of Vitium, and Brakor warriors fighting Vitium soldiers alongside their enemies would present a problem indeed. The Pact with the Dryads however, must be honored, and to an extent, may absolve Brakor of any wrong doing against Vitium...at least he prays to be so.

Olaf tapped on Firgus' shoulder, taking notice of the heavy burden his friend and brother was carrying. "No need to fear. "Olaf said. "We'll deal with the guilds once word spreads, we must honor the pact with the treemen, or else we shame ourselves and future children yet to be born."

"Yes..you're right." Firgus said, a hint of confidence in his tone. "We'll deal with them when the time comes."

It was one of the ships that first caught sight of the chieftain beyond the crowd. At the front of the ship was a painted bust of a mermaid, her delicate arm outstretched, pointing forwards and seemed to have a spiral of runic tattoos spiraling up it ending at her for finger. The head of this bust had been turning, almost noticeably, as it scanned the crowd until finally it’s softly glowing eyes become fixed on the chieftain. While the armored warriors continued their showboating and distracting another dryad, wearing an unusual armor made of the purple chitin of a Furyogoth, no boots and a small choker that was akin to a miniature version of the bubble belt that had been shown to the black band, was deposited on the deck by the spotter ship using a large wooden arm growing out of of its deck. This dryad then began to make their way towards Firgus, skirting their way around the crowd as best they could.

Firgus took notice of the strange dryad approaching him giving a perplexed look upon the stranger, with little else to say, he just asked. "Yes..?" He begun. "May I help you?"  Elina, Farald, and Olaf stood and waited for a response as well, curious to hear what the dryad had wanted.

“Firgus Holen?” the asked dryad rhetorically “Yaval would like to speak with you somewhere a little more private. Could you come aboard Erstariana the Maiden” the dryad stabbed a thumb back over his shoulder towards the mermaid figureheaded ship he had come from. Erstariana helpfully, disconcertingly, waved at Firgus' group to make itself stand out more “as soon as your available?” 

"Of course." He said, turning to the others. "Elina, Farald, ready yourselves and the others, you will be leaving port for the Emerald Empire." 

Elina nodded. "Yes, father." She complied, motioning Farald to follow her as they both join the rest of warband. "Olaf, join me." Firgus turned his attention to his advisor. "Of course." Olaf replied as the two men followed the dryad, soon boarding the living ship, this was honestly quite the day for the old chieftain.

The living ships were already and oddity, titans of bark, foliage and branches forming a facsimile of a watercraft, yet the ship still managed to have something out of place on it, for a large section of the deck had been made into a small garden. Grass covered dirt dotted with various flowers was packed into a 4 meter wide bowl that hosted at its center a single four meter tall Tree. Standing next to it, with one hand laid against the bark of the Tree was a dryad woman wearing ironbark armor that featured a knee length skirt of purple chitin and a choker that matched the first dryad’s. She appeared to be deep in contemplation, staring at the Tree she was touching, until she was broken away by the first dryad clearing his throat. 

“Ah. um. Hello Chief Holen. I am... I mean…. I speak for Yaval. Or rather Yaval speaks through me. 

While the voice of Yaval found her feet the first dryad walked off of the dirt to stand with his bear(or bare, unless it is actually the feet of a bear) feet touching the raw bark of the ship. 

“And Erstariana, this fleet’s Warmaster of spring, speaks through me. Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”

Frigus was taken aback with Yaval's way of communication, to an extent, it was frighting, but he remained composed, not showing any sign of weakness. He gave a bow of respect, "You honor us with your presence, Yaval." He said, he turned to Olaf to introduce him. "This is Olaf, my trusted Advisor, friend, and brother."

"So, what brings you here, your...grace?" Olaf said, not exactly sure on how to even address Yaval.

“A pleasure to make your acquaintance Olaf,” Erstariana began as Yavals ancient mind processed being called your grace “We are, as you might have noticed, to hire mercenaries” they continued. Because Yaval was often thought of as a representation of the Dreaming as a whole they had misunderstood Firgus‘s words as a question for them all rather than for the ancient tree itself. He had however provided Yaval enough time to contemplate a response however.

“I would prefer if you referred to me as Yarval (or Yaval?), for I am simply first among equals. I wear no crown, nor do I hold any dominion other than the soil in which I grow. I speak for the Forest as a whole because they trust and believe in my wisdom and ability to understand and represent their wishes, desires and circumstances, but I hold no inherent authority over my kind.” 

There was a brief pause as Yaval momentarily turned their attention to a urgent event elsewhere. They returned just before anyone else could start speaking.

“As for why I am here, it is to bring the knowledge and desires of my kin here from all the corners of our empire. Information wins wars, this has been learned, and through pieces of myself like the one before you I can bring news of events in far of place far faster than any courier, ship or messenger bird.”

"Is that so?" Firgus said, quite intrigued with this, especially if it means he can be constantly aware of his daughter's situation if need be, granted he would not dare bother Yaval with such a minor thing in comparison to the the wider war....at least not too much. "We'll find this very useful, I will need to know on the well-being of my warriors."

“Unfortunately, this part of me shall not be staying.... However, for purpose of keeping you up to date we could establish a temporary embassy. I...” the speaker paused for a moment before once again correcting herself “Meraltisa, and a few associates could stay behind with a smaller cutting of myself. This would allow us to keep you informed and allow us to assist you should certain merchants cause difficulties for you.”

“It is due to them that we wished to speak with you privately, to keep information from getting into the hands of those that can be bought.” Erstariana informed them, continuing Yavals pattern of not mentioning the slaver guilds name. This was part of the ongoing aggressive ignoring of the slavers being done by the Emerald Empire. They would not trade directly with anyone that worked directly for them, not that this stopped their wares being sold on to the guild if they really desired them. There was also a rumor going around that slaves would ‘mysteriously’ disappear when living ships where in port. 

“Specifically we want to relay some information to you, as our ally, that is sensitive to the war effort. As such we would appreciate that you keep it to yourself for the time being”

Firgus pondered, and thought to himself, before turning his attention back to the Yaval's speaker. "Very well, I'll allow it." He said with a confident tone. "The Emerald Empire is free to set up their embassy here in Heimyal, and no one outside this vessel will be aware of its true purpose, I guarantee you that as Chieftain of the Brakor."

“Finally there is the worrying information that the Morj, those betentacled seafolk that plague our shared ocean, have grow bold enough to intervene with a continental conflict. We have word from a relatively reliable source that they have allied themselves with Matathran, and that they have an armada that they will be using to blockade the bay of lights. That they are taking interest in surface affairs and are apparently now capable of organizing an actual army is concerning, as is their association with the expansionist Matathran. The two of them together would present a naval force that would be… concerning.” An understatement of colossal proportions. 

A nightmare haunted the dreaming, a vision of Nine immolated islands in a burning sea. 

“Of more immediate relevance is that blockade, we would suggest you dissuade your people from making journeys through the bay, even to cities not in the contested area. However, we would like that our knowledge of the Morj remain a secret for now, so please keep that detail to yourself as you do so.”

Firgus stroked his beard, taking in all the relevant information that Yaval had presented to him. These were troubling times indeed. "Very well, you have my word." Firgus said, nodding. "Nothing what you have told me will leave this room, as said before." Olaf stepped forward to speak. "And we will guarantee our people will steer clear of your waters, many will be eager to join in the fight."

“Excellent, excellent. Now. the other matter we wished to discuss with you are those whose ears might relay said information, if it were not going to be kept quiet, to our enemies. We are aware that you might have trouble with certain merchants who trade with Vitium will not be pleased with your, most honorable and appreciated, keeping of your word. With Meraltisa staying here we would appreciate it if you kept her in the loop of any trouble they might cause, as she and we may be of assistance. Certain arrangements and trade deals could be organized to ensure that their misfortune does not impact the rest of your people economically.”

The twin opportunities of being the Brakor more closely to the Empire and driving a wedge between them and the slaver guilds was one the Dreaming Forest found rather alluring. There would be little time to focus on that now, but after the war it might provide an interesting and productive course of action. 

"It's often rare to involve outsiders in clan matters...but we don't object." Firgus said, Olaf nodding in agreement. "We've already crossed the threshold, might as well remedy the damage that will be done."  

“Thank you. We will not interfere without your matters without your explicit blessing, of that you have our word.” Erstariana concluded before Yaval spoke up once more, having remained silent, and possibly absent, while the report had been being delivered. “Before Meraltisa goes to prepare what she needs for the embassy, are there any questions you desire to ask?”

Firgus shook his head. "I think our discussion has been satisfactory."Firgus said. "If we are not needed, I must be on my way."

Meraltisa nodded in response and then hurried off into the bowels of the ship while Erstariana concluded. “Understandable. Meraltisa and her escorts will come find you as soon as they are ready. Thank you for your time and cooperation.“

Both men nodded as they made their departure from the living ship, stepping out onto the docks as the crowds persist, pushing their way past the many more potential recruits as flowed through the docks in like a flood. Once the duo had finally broke free from the crowds, their cart had remained as is, the guard patiently awaiting their return. "What's going on?" The young man asked.

"War my boy." Olaf answered. "Our deal with the treemen is baring fruit."

"Oh, I see." The guard replied, curious of the offer.

"First get us back to the castle, then you're free to offer your services." Firgus ordered.

The guard nodded. "Yes chief!" He replied with great enthusiasm, and with that, the two men hopped aboard the cart and proceeded onward to the Clan Chief's castle.