World Tree MUSH

    The Tree has many and myriad vast worlds on it, and they each have their share of issues. As it were so, one world in specific- seeming quite similar to 17th or early 18th century Earth. The seas are the lifeblood of trade and boats rove and sail the waters freely... Or so they used to before an abundance of sea monsters became prevalent along with the pirates that sail the open waters.
    As such, the various trading companies and lawful captains have taken to hiring adventurers to take part in their voyages; to help protect their crew and fend off monsters and man alike.
    The meeting point is on the docks in the Puerto Rican city of San Juan, it's a bustling water-side city even in this era, and the ship in question, The Blue Dutchman, manned by a Captain Morris and his men sits waiting in port ready to go.
    It's a bright, sunny, summer day with the sea breeze cooling the tropical Puerto Rican heat as the captain and his men prepare to make their journey.

    Probably earning several double and triple takes, a tall, white-haired rat-eared woman strides through the port town without any care for if people can see her or not. She strides up to the captain looks him up and down. "Captain Morris?" she asks. "Scavenger. You posted this on the local bounty board?" she shows a copy of the request posting. "Don't have any ranged options, but anyone tries to board they'll wish they hadn't."

    Her tail swishes aggitatedly. "Just don't get in my way."

Itana el-Zayl has not frequently gone to sea. She's used to arid climates, not the breeze that comes with being closed to the ocean. She's also not all that accustomed to the more modern timeframe she's in, though she does at least have a long jacket over her normal light-and-warm outfit. It looks like it used to belong to a soldier and is coloured a dry blue with a few black and silver accents.

The archer looks up at the ship a moment, moving a hand to her hip and narrowing her eyes in thought. In some ways, being here bugs her. She should be out there, searching for Golbez.

He hasn't exactly made himself apparent. And she needs gil.

"So this is it, then," she muses to nobody in particular.

    One of those responding to the hire add is a tall woman, clad in sturdy adventuring clothes wrapped in a billowy cloak. All of it is breathable, suitable for protecting her from the Puerto Rican sun without baking her alive, and her walking staff taps a steady rhythm as she marches down the dock. As she arrives at the meeting point, the woman draws back her hood, revealing the features of a lady somewhere in the early stages of middle age; she greets whatever crew might be waiting for them with a warm smile and a polite nod.

    "Good afternoon, sirs. Lian Kamoya, adventurer and seer."

    But she's not the only person responding! Both Scavenger and Itana get curious looks, and similar nods of greeting if they look at her as well.

    While Dante was looking for an excuse to take some time off, the Puerto Rican sun was not what he was hoping for. Dante's pale as hell, he burns easily! So he's practically slathered his entire body in sunscreen and is wearing breathable clothes. No leather this time, just red cargo shorts, flip-flops, and an AC/DC t-shirt as well as one of those porkpie hats and sunglasses.

    "Last time I take Enzo's advice on vacations..." He mutters under his breath as he sees Scavenger and Lian. "Oh, hey it's been a while. How ya been, Lian? 'sup Scav?" he greets the Jedi with a casual wave. He's never met Itana before, so he just sizes the archer up. Man, she has a nice ass.

Well, the name of the ship is fitting for Holly considering what her first language is. She hasn't met Itana or Scavenger before but the witch waves to them anyway. She's accompanied by Servis and Lavaux too of course. Hopefully having a witch or ghosts aboard won't cause any problems. Lian gets a smile from her even though it's been a while since they've last met.

 "Hi, I heard you were look for adventurers! I'm Holly! So what kind of monsters are there in the ocean?" She couldn't help but to wonder about that now.

    All aboard!
    The arriving party is met with warm tidings; after all, why wouldn't the captain and his men be relieved to have people to protect them and their cargo on the voyage. It is Captain Morris himself who welcomes the arrivals, with hearty handshakes and greetings.
    He's a proper captain of the time, and his men are good and upstanding crew-- and of forward thinking minds apparently too, as Holly isn't thrown overboard immediately for being a witch.
    So as everyone boards the ship and gears up for the voyage, the captain socializes.
    "Good afternoon indeed! Well, I'll be glad not to be boarded, thank you kindly." He says first to Lian and Scavenger, before answering Holly: "Well! You have the mer-folk, scyllas, charybdi, kraken, hydra, pliosaurs, ghost pirates, normal pirates- because man is the worst monster. You name it, the sea's got it, lass. And that's why you're all here I take it! Well hopefully we'll run into none o' that and you'll all earn a fair pay anyway."
    The ship is pulling out now and heading from the docks toward open sea, and the crew begin to sing a lazy, but mournful tune as the ship pulls away from the land.

    "I thought I heard the Old Man say:
    "Leave her, Johnny, leave her,"
    Tomorrow ye will get your pay,
    And it's time for us to leave her...

    Leave her, Johnny, leave her
    Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her,
    For the voyage is long and the winds don't blow,
    And it's time for us to leave her..."

"Itana," Itana identifies herself with a slow dip of her head and a glance at Lian. She doesn't smile, but her demeanor isn't overly frosty - more serious than unfriendly.

It's been awhile since her last outing beyond her own world, but none of the figures who stroll up are folks she recognizes. She does, at least, know the kind of look she's getting from some quarters. Her hand comes to rest on the arch of her hip, eyes darting over Dante to assess him somewhat humourlessly.

For all that she's no mariner, Itana boards without too much issue and proves capable enough of maintaining her balance. Flight legs and riding legs seem to translate, in this case. Before long, she's gotten used to the marine nip in the air, enough that she slides her cloak off and folds it into her pack to let the breeze fuss and ripple through her hair. Her bow rests against her shoulder and side as she looks across the water.

She doesn't know who Johnny is, but a sea shanty's a sea shanty. When she looks back, it's with a tilt of her head.

"Any sahuagin? They are quite common where I'm from."

    "Dante, Holly," Lian greets, expression brightening at the sight of both. "I'm quite well, thank you," she replies to Dante. "I see you're as energetic as ever." She listens with interest to the captain's description of the hazards they may encounter, musing on the possibilities. "Well, I don't know that I'll have much to offer about any massive sea monsters that might attack, but if anything or anyone seeks to board the ship, I'll be able to assist with that for certain."

    When everyone boards, the older Jedi does the same, and she finds herself a spot on the deck to linger, out of the way of the crew. It's here that she's sitting as they begin to sing; after a moment, the woman closes her eyes, and just quietly enjoys the shanty.

    Scavenger shies away from handshakes and contact in general, instead she boards the ship, and then immediately climbs the rigging to get out of everyone's way. She finds a perch on the primary mast and just kinda settles there, moving out of the way whenever the crew need to adjust the sail rigging. Her tail loops around the crossbeam and she flicks an ear to the singing.

    Once she gets the basic tune down, the Zalak starts to hum along to it.

    "I'm gonna look like a fucking lobster by the end of this with my luck." Dante says with a laugh. "It's good to see ya." The devil hunter grins. He gives Itana a flirty wink, "Dante. You new?"

    Summoning up Nevan, he grabs a comfy spot and strums on the guitar. "I kill demons, so sea devils better watch out." He tells the captain with a smirk.

    As the crew begin to sing, Dante plays along and joins in the chorus with a grin, eagerly adding a heavy metal twist with his instrumental.

Holly missed Dante at first, maybe because he wasn't wearing his coat. It was a bit strange after all. "Oh hi Dante! Maybe, I should change into a swimsuit, I'm not really dressed for the water!" She just realized that.

 "If we get invaded by ghost pirates, don't try to make friends with them, Holly." Servis knows that the witch would be tempted.

 "Sahuagin? Are those like hags?" She hasn't heard of what Itana is referring to before "Hey, that song is kind of catchy!" She does her best to sing along as well, even though its off-key! "Try being a redhead." The sun hates Holly.

    "Sahuagin can be considered amongst the number of the merfolk, so yes." The captain answers Itana as the coast vanishes on the horizon amid the now heavy metal and off key shanty. As the party makes themselves comfortable as amongst the crew or not amongst the crew as they see fit it's... Mostly smooth sailing. Though the crew's singing dies down when the ship passes a large rock formation in the water...
    It's... Colder now. And the tropical Caribbean sun has died down in favor of a grey foggy mist that clings to the soul as the ship starts to pass the rocks.
    "Like here..." Captain Morris whispers to whoever will listen. "These rocks are the known haunt of a Sea Witch... Or so superstition says."
    The singing is done now as she ship creaks and groans through choppy waters. A storm is brewing and already a light drizzle begins to patter on the deck as...
    A new song rises. It's not from the crew.
    Though it is a single voice, it's so... Captivating. A gorgeous tone and timbre that carries over the waters that simply must be listened to.

    "Upon one summer's morning, I carefully did stray...
    Down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay.
    Conversing with a young lass, who seemed to be in pain...
    Saying, 'William, when you go, I fear you will ne'er return again...'

    My heart is pierced by Cupid...
    I disdain all glittering gold...
    There is nothing can console me...
    But my jolly sailor bold."

    The voice is so captivating, in fact, that the crew start to slowly forget their work, ropes going slack causing the sails to slacken and the boat to go dead in the water. SO captivating that the captain himself forgets to bark orders to his crew to rectify this.
    So enthralling that the men begin to walk towards the rail of the ship to listen.
    So gripping, engrossing, that the adventurers themselves might be drawn to the rails as well if they aren't vigilant.

Itana chases a few locks of pale hair back with a sweep of her hand, casting Lian a thoughtful look. "Usually the massive monsters have to come close enough to be hit anyway. You deal with them much the same way you would an armed human." Holly gets a little further explanation and a tilt of her head. "They are fish-men who live underwater. Webbed hands and scaled skin and the like."

Her eyes track back towards Dante as he starts playing his guitar. Her eyelids drop ever so slightly. "...I am not new to myself but I suppose I may be to you. What in the world are you playing? It sounds like you are trying to saw through full-plate."

Before long, she's shivering a little as the cold mist moves over them. It's not so bad that she has to bundle up again, her body growing accustomed to the sea air, but the haze puts her on edge in other respects. Her hand shifts along the haft of her bow.

That's when the voice comes through. Itana blinks sharply and looks out towards the rail's edge, squinting over the water. Her jaw tightens, then relaxes. For a few moment, she listens.

It's beautiful. She draws a slow breath.

And then holds her arm out to block one of the crewmen shambling past her. "Don't," she whispers, fighting to focus on anything else but the sound. It's taking /effort/ - a focus on a repeating pattern of poetry in her own mind, trying to drown out the music with something stupid and monotonous.

    /Baron's barons barely bare in berry barrels. Baron's barons barely bare in berry barrels. Baron's barons barely bare in--/

    Scavenger listens to the ship at sea, the creak of wood, the call of deck hands and the bark of orders amidst the singing of shanties.

    Then, the air gains a nip, rain starts to fall and a haunting voice comes wafting across the waves from the rock formation. Frowning, the Zalak stands and balancebeams to the edge of the crossmast and perches there to look. Ears perked up and forward, eyes narrowed.

    She looks down at the crew, then the others. "We need to get away from the rocks. Whatever's singing is trying to lure us in." she shouts from her perch. She then grabs a loose rope and swings down to grab one of the crewmen before he manages to topple overboard. "Plug your ears." she adds, shoving wadded cloth into the crewman's lugholes rather roughly... not that she's taking her own advice.

    Dante scoffs. "It's heavy metal! C'mon, you don't like it?" He strums a little bit, sparks of electricity emitting as electric bats swarm around Itana before dissipating just as suddenly. He riffs off some Pantera briefly, grinning as Nevan keeps sparking in electric arcs as if he's got a whole band and speakers playing an impromptu concert.

    ~Mmmmm, she seems like a fighter. Might turn you into a pincushion, sugar.~ Nevan intones in Dante's ear, he just chuckles. "She's welcome to try."

    At least, until he hears the singing too. The concert ceases, and Dante strums a bit as he gives the singing an instrumental beat, not at _all_ helping in the slightest.

    And on they go, until the sun fades, and the chill sets in. Lian draws her cloak closer around herself, and pulls up her hood; even before the singing starts, she's murmuring a soft, "Darkness does indeed dwell in this place." Slowly, she comes up to her feet, seeming to keep her balance easily despite the rougher waters.

    Even the elder Jedi has to stop and listen to that singing voice; but its effects fail to take hold on one of her age, self-mastery, and gift in the Force. Others, though, aren't so lucky.

    There's a faint, troubled look in Lian Kamoya's eyes at the crew being so captivated. She hates to infringe on the wills of others, but if it's to save them, to bring them back to their own wills...

    Forward the woman steps, planting her staff with a loud RAP against the deck. She doesn't typically wield this on many at once, but in this case, it's worth the effort. The seer speaks only a simple word, but it's a word imbued with command, with authority - and most of all, with Force.

    "Awaken."

"A Sea witch? I wonder what she's like?" Holly can't help but to be curious now. "Oh fishmen that makes sense, with all the other creatures mentioned." She nods in agreement before hearing the other song. "Wow, people here certainly like music!"

 Lavaux goes floating towards the railing with the other sailors, but Servis seems to be unaffected by it. She sings along with the new song, her voice is certainly loud but it's not on tune. The poor witch doesn't seem to have much of a sense of rhythm, so she seems only partly affected by it. She shakes her head upon hearing Lian's voice, "What happened?" She sounds a bit confused.

    Itana stops a man and... He... Seems to be in a stupor or a trance when she does, already lost to the song. Another man has cloth plugged in his ears by Scavenger and as soon as he can no longer hear the song he seems to snap out of it.
    "What huh?"
    Dante isn't helping and the Captain is too entranced to answer Holly about what the sea witch could be like. He's walking towards the rail of the ship like the rest of his men... The ship veers drastically, turning TOWARDS the rocks where the singing is coming from, a wild look in the helsman's eyes as-...

    Awaken!

    Lian's voice is like a ripple of solace amid the merciless pull of the song and snaps much of the crew from their haze, murmurs of confusion and shock ripple through the men as the helmsman tries his best to re-correct course but...

    "His hair it hangs in ringlets, his eyes as black as coal...
    My happiness attend him wherever he may go...
    From Tower Hill
    to Blackwall, I'll wander, weep and moan...
    All for my jolly sailor, until he sails home.

    My heart is pierced by Cupid.
    I disdain all glittering gold.
    There is nothing can console me.
    But my jolly sailor bold."

    The song continues, trying to pull harder, now blatant and malicious in intent, doing its best to pull the crew in like a net dragging over the men and party. It's probably not as effective after Lian's judicious application of The Force and the men are able to retain themselves long enough to function once more. But there is a small splash...
    "Ah HELL." Captain Morris swears, having regained his senses.
    "Man overboard! Fish him out!" Another sailor calls. And the captain looks conflicted. Under normal circumstances he'd try to have the man rescued, but the siren song threatening his crew means he has to weigh the risks. And it's not looking good for that sailor as he values the lives of his men as a whole over the life of one man.
    "Belay that! Leave him and turn us about before we hit the rocks!"
    The ship slowly starts to turn, beginning to pull away from the dark rock formation to leave the man behind.
    "... That's what the sea witch is like, lass." Morris mutters glumly to Holly.

    There's a second splash, alongside a Zalak-sized hole in the crew grouping. The only thing left of her is the cleaver the size of a man, leaning against the mast and partially dug into the deck from the weight of the weapon.

    Scavenger swims toward the crewman, pulling her rebreather over her mouth as she powers through the water with a minor rooster tail behind her.

    A billowing brown cloak flutters to the deck, and a tall, gnarled walking staff falls right beside it. Not long after Scavenger goes over the side, Lian Kamoya does similar; she's not going into the water entirely, but as she runs, she reaches out to grab a rope... or rather, the end of one leaps straight up to her outstretched hand, one whose other end is still tied to something sturdy.

    Without her cloak, Lian's black hair billows, bare arms quickly dampening in the spray of water as she hops fearlessly over the edge. The Jedi plans to cling to the side of the ship, rope in hand, just so that she can be there to help Scavenger and the crew member back up onto the ship when they return.

Itana's thoughts loop through the ridiculous tongue-twister. She even starts muttering it to herself - until Lian's command snaps through the brain fog. Her mind centers suddenly; she blinks, straightening up with a jolt.

The sharpness of the mental command centres her. Instantly, her hand darts to her quiver and whips an arrow free. She glances here and there, jaw set as she tries to single out the source of the music.

Which is about when a crewman goes over the side. Itana clicks her teeth together.

She shakes her bow into readiness as she beelines for the side of the ship. Her arrow hits the bowstring; she holds it, squinting out into the fog to try and pinpoint the source of the song. The malice in it is clear now, and it pulls at her even with Lian's reinforcement in her mind. A part of her wants nothing more than to hurtle over the side and start swimming.

She resists it. She is a desert wanderer. She *can* swim, but not well enough that she'd trust herself in a foggy ocean with the ship turning around.

"She will not be like it much longer," Itana mutters as she whips her arm back and raises her bow. She can see the rocks ahead but is tracking her shot entirely by gut instinct and sound. Voice carry a certain distance, but it won't be precise enough for a bulls-eye. She knows that even as she fires an arrow off and into the rocks.

She won't need one. "Angarag," she snaps.

In mid-flight, the arrowhead takes fire, a ruddy spark descending towards the rocks - and when it hits ground, it'll explode like a huge grenade going off.

"I see..." Holly sounds a bit disappointed upon learning about the Sea Witch's true intent. It's probably a good thing she wasn't the one who leapt overboard. She walks over to the edge of the boat so she can help Lian pull Scavenger and the crew member back up. The explosion that Itana creates catches her off-guard though and she falls back leaving a bit of an imprint in the deck where she lands.

    Dante keeps playing, mostly to keep the music out of his head. It works, because when Lian uses her 'spell' it causes him to mostly wince a little as it takes effect. "I'm up, I'm up! Geez, 'mom'." He shakes his head, grumbling to himself as he realizes what's been happening. "Oh. I guess we found our sea creature. Sounds like a siren of some kind."

    Rushing to help Scavenger and the crewman aboard with Lian, he reaches down. "Grab my hand!"

    A man has gone overboard and the boat is turning away... Leaving him to his watery fate. There's a murmur among the crew, but ultimately they understand that the captain has their lives in mind over that of a single man, and the ship begins to pull away as-...
    The second splash creates a ripple of shock among the men when Scavenger leaps over the side after the fallen sailor.
    Everything happens so fast- the singing coming to an ABRUPT end on the rocks when Itana's arrow streaks through the air and erupts into a conflagrating and explosive fireball on the rock formation, the keening shriek of *something* sounding not too long after before the singing dies down fast.
    The water though...
    It's cold and merciless. Scavenger's strength and speed are great but the current is strong, and it's ripping the young sailor away and down under, away from the boat as...
    Something slithers under the surface of the water. Something something *fast* making a beeline for the sinking sailor. It's going to reach him before the Zalak can-- and it DOES reach him before the Zalak can.
    But when it does, Scavenger will see something sleek and aqua-colored dragging the sailor through the water *toward* her, against the deadly current; swimming with impressive speed and strength.
    The jade blur halts ever so briefly- and Scavenger will see the form of a girl, vivid scarlet eyes staring at her before she shoves the sailor into the operator's arms, only to whip about under the surface and swim away as fast as she had appeared.

Others have made the dive for the sailor. Itana entrusts it to them. She watches to see how close to the mark her shot is.

The screaming tells her she's close enough. With a flick, Itana snaps another arrow into readiness. The singing has faded, but she has no way to know if an attack is coming. She cannot truly /see/ the siren in the haze - merely hear it, and without the oppressive call of the song, she's left blind to any attack that might come after.

So focused is she on awaiting the siren's next move that she entirely fails to notice that /something/ is worming its way through the water....

    <Stupid, why did you do this? You don't even know these people.>
    <It's what She would have done, and you know it...>
    <Focus, the current's... no, he's getting awa-- wait what the...>

    Thoughts rapidfire through Scavenger's mind, all the while the sailor is being dragged ever further away from her... she can't keep up until...
    Yellow eyes lock with scarlet for that brief moment before the sailor is thrust at her. She loops her tail around his waist, attaches a couple of straps to his shoulders so she can swim with him dragging behind her, then turns back to the ship and pulls hard against the current.

    She catches up somehow, and with the others offering help, she launches the sailor up at them first, before taking one of the offered hands for herself.

    "There's someone else out there... I saw; something, a girl I think. She pulled him out of the ripcurrent he got caught in."

    The entire time Scavenger is out there, Lian keeps an eye on her - and the other figure out there with them. Once she, Dante and Holly drag the two back up onto the deck, the older woman seats herself beside a railing, holding onto it for the moment. "I sensed her," she replies to Scavenger, nodding faintly. "Not hostile. Not the source of the darkness that haunts this area. I can say that much for certain." The woman turns to look back out over the water, frowning. "...which raises the question of what she's doing in a place like this."

"Oh neat, one of the merfolk?" Holly pulls herself back up so she can help the others. "Thank you!" She can't see anyone else down there, but she waves anyway. "Hopefully, the Siren doesn't get her. Not all darkness is bad though!" She knows some people believe that after all.

    Dante nods, "I saw someone, dunno if they were who we were lookin' for or what." He says. He slowly reaches for one of his pistols as he gazes out into the water. "I think we got a monster out there. But it's not our mystery girl, why would she help you guys out if she wanted to munch us? Doesn't make any damn sense."

    It sure was risky, going after the sailor like that. But it all worked out in the end as the young man and the Zalak are returned to the ship and hoisted back aboard.
    "That was reckless." The captain says to Scavenger, before pursing his lips. "And you've got me and the crew's thanks."
    The ship is already pulling away from the rock formation, though, and soon enough the oppressive atmosphere dies away, the bleak fog and gloom fading back to bright sun and sea warmth.
    The sea witch will not be pulling in any ships today, Itana has seen to that, and the boat cuts through the water. It'll be some time before next port but it's not long before there's another commotion rippling through the crew, who have all gathered at the rear of the ship for some reason.
    They've pulled the nets in.
    And in those nets, tangled and struggling is a single figure- one that should be familiar to Scavenger.
    "Gh! Khh! Grhhhgh!"
    She's dressed in a simple tunic of tattered and woven seaweed, and in the sun there's no missing the green tint of scaled skin or the powerful looking fin-like wings and tail as she tries to bite and claw her way out of the netting.
    "What's all this now?" The captain asks of his men.
    " 's a sea-nymph sir." Another sailor replies. "Got caught in our nets. They're usually... Smarter than that."

    "The darkness that hangs about this place most assuredly is," Lian replies to Holly, moving to stand up and collect her cloak and staff at last. "It's the sort of darkness born of evil, darkness that claws at the soul and weighs on the heart. I've no fear or dislike of the night - rather fond of it, at times. But the darkness I speak of is something else entirely." However, even before the crew begins to make a commotion, the Jedi is already making her way back, as if she can feel what's coming.

    "Oh, I assure you, she's quite intelligent," the older woman replies to the sailor. "Intelligent enough to help us rescue your crewman, in fact." Turning her attention to the sea nymph herself, Lian smiles softly. "Hello, there. Thank you for your assistance."

"Someone else?" Itana blinks sharply and looks down to the water.

By the time she's looking, whatever Scavenger saw is out of sight. The archer frowns and lowers her bow, sliding her arrow back into the quiver. As the craft cruises along, she turns back to look towards the rest of the crew, and over to Scavenger and the rescued crewman. "Is he alright?"

There's maybe a moment to answer before the commotion emerges at the stern.

Itana's over there in a snap, but her initial instinct - something needs fighting - proves incorrect. The archer sinks into a crouch and peers at the small figure attempting to nibble her way through the netting. Or perhaps 'nibble' is too mild a word.

Her eyebrows come up shallowly. "I see our mystery helper ran into some trouble."

    Scavenger frowns dismissively at the captain. "Death can have me when it earns me. It has yet to do so." she affirms, before slinking off to hide somewhere once more.

    A few hours pass, and Scavenger was about to take a nap, when commotion ripples through the ship and a white-haired head peeks out from her spot... somewhere near the net being pulled up. "..." she frowns as she spots the figure, and recognition passes over her usually impassive face. "Cut her loose..." she states firmly, pointing at the rescued crewman. "He owes her his life."

Holly nods at Lian as long as she understands that not all darkness is bad, she won't argue with her. "Oh, she's cute! Like a little dragon! Yes, get her out of there before she gets hurt trying to break free!" The witch tries to use her strength to untangle the girl from the nets. "She's even got wings like the ones attached to my dress!"

    Dante claps the captain's arm. "At least you know how to thank someone, bud." He says with a grin teasingly. It's an uneventful sail until the net catches something. Some/one./

    The maidenly sea nymph catches Dante's eye, and he looks at her. Recognizing her as the one who saved the sailor, he wastes little time in going to cut her free with his sword, swiping at the net until the sea nymph spills outwards. "Hey, l'il sharky? Sorry for the net, you know these sailors. They're real irresponsible with the ocean."

    Intelligent, yes, but getting caught in the nets clearly wasn't in this nymph's plans. Ran into some trouble indeed; it must have happened shortly after rescuing the sailor. And when the crew backs down and it is apparent that she's not going to be hurt- and even gets thanked for her actions, she calms and stills. It makes it much easier for Dante and the crewmen to cut her free of the netting at Scavenger's bidding.
    "Well I'll be damned." The captain says, rubbing his chin. "Can't say we've ever caught a merfolk before. Let alone on the same say escaping a siren. I'd say we've either used up all our luck or more's bound our way." Pause. "I'll hope it's the latter and consider this a blessin'."
    As he says this, she sits herself up, settling on the deck criss-cross-applesauce.
    "Guh!" She grunts, at first, at the party. "Khh gghh..." She seems to be trying to say something, before wincing and rubbing her throat with one hand. That's when she points back in the direction the ship had sailed from. The direction of the rocks.
    "A-aaa..." Said as emphatically as she can manage, but doesn't make any motions to actually get off the boat.
    Looks like the ship's picked up a new passenger for the time being, tail swishing lazily behind her.
    "Someone find the girl a proper dress or something to wear. If she's not leaving we can at least be gracious hosts for our man's savior." The captain calls out.

    "Hmm~." After a moment's thought, Lian steps over and seats herself right in front of the mermaid. "I haven't the talent for mind-reading that some of my old comrades did, but if you think simple words, and think them very hard, I might be able to translate them for you. A name, at least. If you have one."