'The Hogue' Introductions: Alexis & Nicolaus

'The Hogue' – Voyage to Sentinel Island - Day 1
Nicolaus approached the warrior and the Captain from the side so as not to startle her, and cleared his throat to get their attention.
"Captain, as the lady has inquired, I too am curious about where and how long you were instructed to wait for us after we disembark." Nicolaus turned and gave a slight bow. "Nicolaus Cagliostro, physician for this endeavor, and you are?"

Cagliostro? Alexis had heard that name before… Ah yes.

“As in the owner of the apothecary?” She turned to face the man fully and nodded her greeting. “Well met. My name is Alexis Greyriver, and I’ll be commanding this mission. Good to have you with us.”

Nicolaus bowed again, " A pleasure Alexis. Yes, I opened the apothecary shop a little over a year ago. You then are just the person to ask. What do we know so far?"

“As for what the Hogue will do during our mission…” Alexis nodded towards the captain. “… they will drop anchor off the shore and wait for us as long as they can. Which should be about two weeks. We will be signaling them when we are done and they’ll send a rowboat to pick us up.”

Alexis led Nicolaus away from the captain, leaving the man to his duties.

“As for our mission, we are to find out as much about this island and its inhabitants as possible. Those inhabitants have shown great aggression towards outsiders, so diplomacy is out of the question. We will have to be stealthy. The last scouting party has been all but wiped out, and the sole survivor, though not quite in his right mind has claimed demons at work. Which is why the Arbiter has joined us. Anything in particular you wish to know?”

Nicolaus paused in thought, he rubbed his chin and studied Alexis' steely brown eyes, "What do we know beyond the rumored kidnapping, blood-drinking demon cannibals with a penchant for burning people? Cannibalistic rituals can be surprisingly complex.
While searching dusty shelves in the Great Library I found references to tribes in jungle lost Kru'll exhibiting a strange illness, but several scrolls also detailed some of their habits. They can involve eating parts of one’s enemies to take on their strength.
To other tribes the consumption of human flesh has a more... ritual significance. Once a person has died, their loved ones consume parts of their body so that they, quite literally, become a part of them. To us, this might seem disturbing, but to those who entertain these rituals, burying your mother in the dirt or leaving her to be entirely consumed by maggots is equally disturbing. Some may find the fact that apothecaries regularly stock fat, flesh, blood and bone to be just as disturbing."

Alexis looked evenly back. “Nothing. As I said, from the last excursion only one member came back, severely burned and mumbling about blood drinking and flesh-eating demons. Which is why we are send to do reconnaissance. Cultural differences aside, given what happened to our predecessors, I dare say we are not welcome on their island. So we will be acting appropriately careful.”

She thinks for a moment. “In fact we are ordered to get an idea about their social structure as well. Boyce Blackwolf is another prominent member of our party for that reason. I think you and him could profit from exchanging your insights.”

"Fair enough, I will make the acquaintance of Boyce Blackwolf so we may collaborate. With regard to yourself, what brings you to the edge of the world, if I may ask?"

Alexis inclined her head at the rather personal question. “Things were going down a road I felt I could no longer follow in my old band, so I decided to take a different turn at the crossroads.” She finally said with a half smile.

Nicolaus nodded, "A good enough enough reason as any, ...for myself, there is less and less of the world that is truly new. This is a chance to write a new page of history. Well.. off to find Blackwolf, good day Alexis." Nicolaus bowed lightly and flourished his hand before turning away.