Whispers over Wine
Seventh Day of Olweje-hamba (Olweje Descending) 1348 A. L. (After Landfall)
The tavern is low and dark, the wooden beams that hold up the roof black as though they had been set in the heart of a fire, but in truth cooked slow not fast, the smoke of days beyond count wrapping around hem, along with the whispers of who knows how many years. You see here folk from all the lands that abut the wide sea, from fur clad trappers of the northern woods, wearing talismans of bone and wood and fox's tails proudly on their chests to veiled desert warriors keeping their own company under the glares of the other patrons, to deep chested mountain men with a touch of knikut ancestry to your eyes at least, bearing heavy axes fit to cleave man as easily as tree.
Outland folk in rugged goat skins rub shoulders with sailors in rough flax that would not be out of place among the Anwa. It looks like the fellow at the docks had not lied about this being the place you want to take a drink if you want to keep your ears open for rumor, though from the numbers of men armed and armored for war, you suspect most of the talk is likely to be about the hiring of sellswords.
A fair enough assessment of where to send the foreigners in steel shirts, you must admit for all the thought of selling yous sword is still a bitter one.
Rumors of Orinilu:
Swift Wings, Ill Words: The Osiogun, trained bands of the Isangoa the Luara and the Yokomi, all strong allies of the city and armed with spears long and sharp held in bold hands have fallen in an ambush by the craven Ibanorans who were said to have made common cause with the wild men of the hills to show them their secret ways, yet still many in the city home that this is not so, for it is but a rumor borne on the wings of birds and not carried in the hand of a trusted messenger. The truth will be known when the armies reach the River Kime. If they reach it, some mutter darkly.
Paths Open and Shut: With the blood of many battles staining the waters of the Blue Sea the pirates of the pirates of the Atun
[Population of what would be Morocco] come to feast, under shark-skin banners, trade with the east is not as safe as it once was, though the Anwa keep the western path open and the Mouth of the World, allowing northern tin to keep flowing out the Mouth of the World and on to the great lands of the south. There is some wild talk of summoning aid from the south, tough few are the folk at the court of the Court of the Priest Kings who would think well of a city which rebelled against the servants of Elnu
Hide of the Golden Serpent: Gilded Serpents have been seen near the city, a good omen which lifted the hearts of many in this long and fearful war which was begun in the blasphemy of Ikomi's temple and the blinding of her eye. The Lord Admiral has placed a bounty on the hides of the serpents and further proclaimed that whosoever shall manage to best the holy beasts and bring their scales in tribute to the city shall be raised its champion
Seers Silence: The priests of Nikure remain silent as to the fate of the war, refusing any offering great and small to foretell either victory or deafest, some claim that their eyes are fixed on some grander conflict yet to come, others whisper that they are plotting against the Five. No matter the reason many folk high and low have been moved to take counsel of far more dubious oracles, filling the hands of these petty seers with silver and their hearts with pride unearned
Blessing of the Waters: The grand fleet of the city is heading out soon towards the Sealkin Islands
[Balearic Islands] in order to gather there new ships as well as to put an end to the piracy which has so troubled the traders. Then they shall sweep back east and with all the power of the league behind them they shall make an end to Ibanora and its blasphemous king.
What do you do next?
[] Seek details about one of the rumors above
-[] Write in which
[] Try to find a seer to divine what the Marcella ha become, for all that this is likely to be expensive
[] Go to the market to see to your own arms and armaments, you would much wish for a weapon that could slay sorcerous foes without relying on Zaia's arts
[] Accompany Inge to the local temple of Ikomi as she seeks to aquire a cauldron in which to brew potions and philters of her own
[] Write in
OOC: You do not get the Esha option because she has gone on her way and you have no way to find her until she returns to the ship. I hope the names in brackets are not too intrusive, but with all the names I am throwing at you this seemed like the best way to actually place them in context. Not yet edited. 
