Omiron Watchers were an independent band of privateers that patrolled the waters of this region of Omiron Sea. They did so to clear the vicinity of pirates and smugglers, to provide safer travels for the passing ships. In return, they demanded a small fee that depended upon the size of the vessel, and if it was a merchant vessel, the commodity it carried. This description of the Omiron Watchers and the concept of their purpose may sound very charming but it was so only on parchment.
In reality, the people that Pearl saw on board the adjacent ship looked like nothing but a bunch of thugs and ruffians in ragged clothing, unkempt hair and some even in rusted armor. The exception to this was the group that boarded Avi's Fortune, the captain and his entourage of five well-equipped guards and two scribes.
Captain Yasir Eastbrine was a hefty Renaari man who was probably in his early thirties and was probably the only one among his crew that wore clean decent garments, not counting the scribes of course. He had the dark brown skin and broad nose common among all Renaari ethnicities but his lush curly black hair marked him as a native of the southern reaches of The East rather than the middle or the north, since Renaari hailing from there had straighter hair or hair that contained strands of deep red respectively. Some other members of the crew possessed the mentioned physical traits, while some of the crew, including one of the scribes, were Temeri.
"Greetings voyagers," Yasir spoke in heavily accented Temerish, "I would like to commune with your Captain."
"That would be me," Javius said, moving towards the boarding plank, "I'm Javius Avi, pleased to meet you."
"The pleasure's mine, Master Avi," Yasir greeted back, "I think I don't need to introduce myself."
"Oh, of course not, Captain Yasir" Javius replied, "I talked to your representative in Uranok. We have been expecting your visit."
"That's delightful to hear." Yasir said, "May I see your ship's manifest?"
"Yes, I have it with me." Javius held out a thin stack of parchments attached to a wooden board and handed them to Yasir, "Here you go."
Yasir took them, read the first sheet, turned to read the backside, and then passed the rest to the scribes, "Inspect the goods and calculate the amount."
"Yes, sir." They said immediately, getting to work. One scribe read from the manifest while the other made the calculations on a slate with chalk.
Javius and Yasir made small talk for a while until the centre of the conversation turned to the extra passengers, who were Eranae and Pearl. Eranae leaned against the railing at the deck's end. Pearl sat on a crate beside, wiping the water off the practising sword.
"It's not everyday you see a Renkayan and a Nanar travelling together," Yasir said, walking towards the two, "In fact it's been a good decade since I last saw an ashhead on sea, no offense intended."
Ash-heads was a commonly used and somewhat derogatory term used to refer to the Nanar people due to their Ashen hair. In most cases, like the present one, it was used as a direct physical description rather than an insult.
"True, my people prefer to keep to the roads." Pearl replied, "But we make exceptions time to time."
"Shiran-et-Mridir," Yasir approached for a handshake, "I am Yasir Eastbrine."
"Eastbrine?" Pearl asked, shaking Yasir's hand, "Is that a title?"
"Not a title, just a nickname that stuck from days as an oarsman." Yasir told.
"I smell an interesting story there." Eranae remarked.
"Eranae Cassius Sulla," Yasir said, looking at her, "Did I pronounce that correctly? Reading Cerhin names from manifests is still difficult for me.."
"It was correct for the most part except for Sulla," Eranae said, she was taking her false name thing quite seriously, "It's pronounced as Soo-La."
"Our Renaari vocal cords aren't as intricate as yours," Yasir laughed, "If you don't mind me asking, I am curious to what is the purpose of your voyage."
"We are travelling to Kanark to help with a collective business enterprise of our families," Pearl informed. They had decided to come up with a false story to explain their travels since it seemed less suspicious than withholding information.
"Ah, Kanark has become quite the hub for all kinds of new ventures," Yasir nodded, "The new laws decreed by the Ruling Council has made it easy for foreign investors to establish businesses in the city. What sort of business is it you are investing in, if you don't mind me asking?"
"It's a workshop, one of immense proportions," Eranae explained, "We deal in woodworks, you know, furniture, carved decors and similar products."
"I'm afraid that my knowledge in that field is extremely limited," Yasir said, "But I wish you good fortunes. It is always a pleasure to chat with travellers on the tides."
"That it indeed is, Captain." Pearl smiled.
Yasir smiled back and returned to his scribes, who were almost done. Javius, while Yasir was conversing with the two, had finished his dealing with Yasir's scribes. In his hand he held a heavy leather pouch that was designed to hold currency. He handed the pouch to Yasir who looked at the scribe. The scribe nodded implying that the amount was correct. Yasir turned to Javius and then shook his hand.
"This went quite well," Pearl told Eranae, "Didn't it?"
"Strangely so," Eranae agreed, sounding skeptical.
Yasir had begun climbing up the planks but before reaching back to his ship, he stopped and turned back, looking at Eranae.
"Miss Sulla," He called out, "A question."
Eranae almost jumped on hearing those words, but acted relaxed, casually walking to the plank to hear what Yasir had to say. However, Pearl could see the goosebumps on her skin.
"What is it, Captain?" Eranae asked.
"There's word around that some Elaians are willing to pay a handsome amount for any information about a Renkayan woman whose description seems to fit you." He informed, "Do you know about this?"
"It seems you have mistaken me for someone else." Eranae replied.
"If that is the case," Yasir began climbing again, "I apologize for the misunderstanding. Good fortunes to you again."
"Good fortunes to you as well, Captain Yasir." Eranae wished back as the trireme began sailing. The Omiron Watchers were now sailing away from Avi's Fortune, back into the coral sea.