Splitting up to explore, everyone quickly left towards different locations on the pier. Luna went to the left side of the pier as the sisters stuck together and went to the right side. Seeing that he had been left behind, Sol looked over the sizable port and gazed at the bustling area with curiosity.
Being closer to more urban city life, Sol had never actually seen a port before and certainly hadn't seen one that was much less technology-focused. The port itself stretched across a large portion of the coastline, and while it wasn't larger than the town it was connected to, the size was not at all small either.
The town floor was mostly made of cobblestone roads and foundation for the most part but soon transitioned into a sturdy dark wood type texture that had a very old and well-used feel to it. There were plenty of docking areas for around 15 or so ships of various sizes as well as a large area sectioned off for a wide array of merchants who were all advertising their wares to any passerby.
Realizing that he still had a mission to take care of, Sol wandered over to the merchant area in hopes of finding something worthwhile.
Walking over to a well-worn tent that had been set up at the outskirts of the market, an older seafaring gentleman greeted him. "Hello there An'Elari! Don't see much of you around these parts, what brings you to Tourta?"
Guessing that Tourta was referring to the town itself, Sol just shrugged. "Not much, it's my first time being here myself. Any advice you would give to a greenhorn such as myself? Considering you seem to be a wise and able man."
Despite not having many teeth, it didn't stop the man from laughing raucously and slapping Sol on the back as if they had known each other for decades. "Flattery will get you everywhere, but be careful young'in, there are plenty of folks who would take advantage of your naivete. But thankfully you met Ol'Rick here. Been living in Tourta for all my life and have seen a whole lot of things in my life. As for advice, I would need to know what you are lookin' to do."
Remembering what Luna had told him earlier, Sol reiterated to Ol' Rick and he nodded and thought for a moment. "Hmmm, from what I remember, most crews are either full or not real suited for your group since they got a lotta shady folks specially considering you got three lasses with ya."
Not too discouraged considering he had JUST started looking and was sure that the others would find a lead soon anyway, Sol talked at length with Ol'Rick about his life in Tourta as well as what being on sea entailed. They even got to talking about random things from the best place to eat in town to gawking at pretty ladies that happened to pass by.
A couple hours passed by as they chatted when Ol'Rick slapped his thigh loud enough to attract the rude gazes from the nearby merchants. "Oh that's right, there is one group of folks that would be just right for yall. They are a pretty new crew but they are led by a trustworthy captain that I'm sure you'll get along with just swimmingly. They aren't a big crew by any means but their cap did tell me that they were lookin' to recruit some new blood."
~ Mysterious Crew (Elite)~
Your talks with a wise resident of Tourta has led you to a promising mystery crew. Follow Ol'Rick to the meeting location and find out more about this crew.
Shocked at the notification popup, Sol immediately took a screenshot of the quest he was given and quickly shared it with the others. Realizing that he had missed other messages from the others with their own findings which didn't really amount to much.
Luna who had looked over the message from her brother and scrunched her brows up in justified shock as to how lucky her brother was. Getting an Elite quest this early on was practically a one in a million chance as even she couldn't accurately know what would trigger a crew questline. Quickly telling the goddess sisters to meet up with Sol as soon as they could, Luna made her way over to the marketplace.
Thankful that Ol'Rick didn't mind waiting for the others to gather, he didn't have to wait long till Luna, Diana, and Minerva showed up. Of course, as soon as the girls showed, Ol'Rick couldn't resist whistling and slapping me on the shoulder. Ol'Rick winked and grinned knowingly while Sol couldn't help but facepalm in embarrassment.
Thankfully the girls seemed to have missed that moment, or at least choose to ignore it, and greeted the two of them pleasantly before heading off.
Following behind Ol'Rick, the group was surprised as the old man headed towards town but shrugged towards one another and followed diligently. Despite his age and stature, the group made their way through town as Ol'Rick chatted with the girls and unfortunately told some really cheesy jokes along the way which they hesitantly laughed at.
As they walked through the town, Sol and the two sisters gazed at the various buildings in the town and the inhabitants. Despite the occasional child pointing curiously at the oddly dressed group, most of the older residents respectfully bowed as we passed by. An'Elari were rare and mysterious, but due to the elemental temples that were frequently in most towns, residents of this world respected them none the less.
After a wrong turn or two, they finally arrived before a large warehouse looking building before them that was located deep in town where there were much fewer locals idly walking by. Ol'Rick walked up to the sturdy metal door and knocked loudly. "Oyyy! Melantha! I got some promising An'Elari here that are lookin' for a crew!"
A loud crash sounded as something from a higher floor seemed to have fallen and light but quick footsteps were heard as they got closer to the door. Opening the door, a dark purple-haired girl rubbed her eyes and frowned at Ol'Rick. "What do you want you old coot? I already told you that we aren't recruiting an old pervert like you already."
Laughing heartily and ignoring the comment, Ol'Rick waved towards our group. "Not I little lady, these folks here are lookin' for a crew to join and thought they would be a perfect fit."
Getting a better look at the four of us, Melantha looked in slight shock. "An'Elari huh? Don't see your types much at all, especially not for being part of a crew. But since the geezer says you're reliable then come on in, ill wake the others and we can have a chat."
Waving goodbye to Ol'Rick, the group followed Melantha inside. Sol looked around and despite the warehouse looking fairly decent size from the outside, the inside had a couple of amenities like a kitchen and lounge area with a large area sectioned off that they couldn't see. Alongside those, there were a set of metal stairs leading up to a second floor that Melantha walked up to probably rouse her other crew members.
As they sat down in the lounge area, it wasn't long before three others came following behind Melantha. Two of them were female with similar builds to Melantha while the last was a much larger hulk of a man that yawned audibly.
As they sat across from the group, Sol gasped as he finally noticed that all of the crew members had the same unique feature. Pointed ears. Shivering in excitement, Sol half guessed that Reign would have fantasy-like elements but he hadn't seen any fantasy NPCs in the last town nor as an optional race when creating their characters.
Unlike his previous notion of elves being taller and graceful beings that loved natured and magic while abhorring manmade structures that destroyed nature, the crew was a bit different. All of the female crew were shorter than expected, maybe a bit over 5 feet but not by much, while the male was a huge mass of muscle but with a sleepy demeanor at the moment. Judging by their calmness and clear base of operations, they seemed to not mind the metal walls and wooden flooring at all.
While Sol was off on his imagination tangent, Melantha introduced the other crew members one by one. She herself was the tallest of the female crew being around 5'3" with long dark purple hair and a pair of light purple eyes. Despite being a sea crew, her skin was still a pale white but carried herself well as a leader with a polite but gruff attitude.
Next was a pair of identical twin sisters that went by Jess and Bell. They were both a couple of inches shorter than Melantha with shoulder-length lime green hair and light green eyes. They must've had the same trait as Melantha because they too had pale white skin and seemed pretty shy. The only difference between the two being a ribbon in Bell's hair.
Lastly was the hulking man who took up almost half of the seating by himself who still had a look like he was about to fall asleep at any moment. With pretty much a buzzcut of stark red hair, Brocca waved as he was introduced and looked to be around 6'8" and filled out with sleek muscle. While Brocca did not have an excessive amount of muscle, he had enough to make sure that no one would even think about getting into a fistfight with him.
After they introduced themselves in return, Melantha took that moment to question them. "So why are a couple of aspiring An'Elari such as yourselves looking to do out at sea then? While we could use a couple of hands around, I am not too certain why the chosen of the Aspects would choose to join a crew instead of ordering a regular sailing vessel to cross the waters."
Luna being the leader of our group responded confidently. "Certainly we could try and find passage to other lands through merchant ships and the like. However, we as An'Elari are beings of adventure, are looking to make our own paths and find new places and treasures even despite the troubles that may come our way. Finding a crew such as yourselves to teach us how to do so properly as well as can always call on us should you need any assistance we can provide."
Melantha didn't respond immediately and looked towards her other crew members. Despite them not speaking, they seemed to come to a consensus. "Well spoken An'Elari. Initially, I would have turned you away since we are a small crew and aren't looking to take you on for the long term. However, teaching adventurous souls such as yourselves how to brave the open waters sounds like a lot of fun. I do hope if you find items that you would not need that we would get first pick. Powerful friends such as yourselves would always be nice to call on when needed."
Holding out her hand to Luna, Melantha smiled. "Welcome to Seabreeze."
~ Mysterious Crew (Elite) ~
Success!
Convincing the small crew of water elves, you managed to find a way to learn how to traverse the open waters of Elem. There are plenty of opportunities that present themselves in undiscovered places but such travel is always teeming with danger as well.
Reward: Small Water Elemental Ship