Daezin pulled her hood up. Why she didn't have it up already in this weather said more about her state of mind than anything else. At least one lookout already spotted her; Daezin had already made this mission harder than it had to be.
Creeping down a narrow, smelly alley--really, why were alleys the worldwide so very smelly is a question for the ages--Daezin found a new direction to approach the strange ship. A warehouse with several empty crates stacked against its wall provided a bit of cover as she picked her way closer.
Studying the end of the docks, Daezin spotted a fourth lookout and adjusted her position. Luckily, the lookouts all seemed to be focused outward, so she merely had to infiltrate their perimeter to have a chance at learning anything juicy. Easy peasy.
Not likely with the way her luck had been going lately.
The damp stormy weather did work in her favor, and she had learned to move through the forest as stealthily as a fox stalking her prey. Or at least that is what her brother used to say. Here she didn't have to deal with fallen leaves and branches, but she didn't have nearly as much cover as she would like.
Daezin circled around this building, hoping to come out closer to the docks edge so she could sneak a peek. Another smelly alley lay on the far side of this building, cluttered with crates, debris, and other unusable detritus created during the course of business. Idly, Daezin wondered how carts pulled up to this warehouse to take things away with all this clutter about, but ultimately, she didn't really care.
Picking her way through the cluttered alley, a plaintive mew reached her ears. When the sound repeated, Daezin crept closer to the sound. Daezin knelt, or more like squatted--she didn't want to get any of this wet stinky mess on her breeches--and peered into the space between two derelict crates. There, huddled in the shadows away from the rain, shivered a small kitten. Grey just like the skies with black-tipped ears, the kitten was the cutest thing ever. At least if you were a cat lover, it was. If you weren't, but you had a heart, like Daezin did, watching that kitten shiver and shake would get you right in the feels.
Daezin reached into the kitten's hidey-hole to run her fingers over its noggin. As her hand drew near, the kitten nipped at those fingers drawing blood. Daezin fell backwards--so much for keeping the stink off her breeches--and managed to hold in a yelp.
"Ungrateful cat. I was going to take you home after this bit of business...," Daezin shook her head.
The kitten mewed again. This time the mew didn't pull at the heart strings, rather it seemed to snark, I can take care of myself. Then, the kitten left her hidey-hole and climb-jumped up the mess of crates and disappeared over the roof.
Daezin stared. "Hmm." She looked left and right and then up again. "Not a bad idea, kitten. Not bad at all." Daezin pulled herself to her feet, careful not to touch the ground with her hands, and slowly ascended the mountain of crates.
Daezin learned to climb on tall timbers and the like; the only worry the crates gave were their rickety nature. Luckily, the growing storm helped cover any noise they made under her not-above-average-despite-her-love-of-sweets-thank-you-very-much weight. If Daezin were the praying kind--snort--she'd think someone divine looked after her. As it was, Daezin chalked it up to good old-fashioned luck and coincidence.
The roof possessed a slight incline, presumably to help keep the rain from pooling on top, but otherwise lay empty and bare... even the kitten had already abandoned it. Daezin crept closer to the ridgepole and finally got a closer look at what happened on the docks below.
The last load appeared to be loaded onto the carts. The crew disappeared inside the ship. Another oddity as most would head for a tavern for something to warm them after a voyage. Or at least that's what Daezin would do... might even do after this bit of a look-and-peek. Cart drivers waited just out of hearing range of a quiet conversation happening below where Daezin lay.
The captain of the ship stood at the foot of the gangplank speaking with a cloaked figure. Either that person had more sense than the others by dressing for the weather, or they were concealing their identity. It was hard to tell which, but Daezin would put money, if she had any to spare, on the second reason.
"We've delivered the goods as requested. Our friend would like to know when you'll be entering the next phase of your plan?" Captain Suspicious asked.
"When the gods tell me its time. I don't answer to mere mortal men, no matter how much power they have or think they have." The cloaked figure gestured to the drivers to get a move on. "Tell your master that this city will be cleansed and rededicated to the gods, but on my timetable, not theirs. Understood?"
The captain turned and sneered. Clearly, not a fan of Mr. Tall, Cloaked, and Fanatical either. "Aye, m'lord. As you say." He doffed his battered hat and backed away.
The other man, faster than Daezin could describe, swept his leg out and the captain landed on the ground. "Show some respect to your betters, fool. I am chosen of the gods, and I demand obeisance."
The captain rolled to his front and bowed his head, every muscle in his body clearly protesting.
"That's better. Remember this for next time." The cloaked man turned and swept away. The hood of the cloak hid it, but Daezin imagined that his nose and chin faced upward as he sauntered out of sight, with the carts slowly heading off in another direction.
When Sir Full-of-Himself had gone out of sight, the captain climbed to his feet as one of his crew reached his side.
"He's going to be a problem."
"No. He's our way in." The captain clapped the crew member on the shoulder and they both turned to climb the gangplank. As the captain turned away, his cloak pin caught the light and Daezin sucked in a breath as the horribly familiar symbol of Charkneth swam before her eyes.
