• Graded • By the Barrel

[Maltruism]

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By the Barrel

80 Zi'da, arc 717

He had asked around for two full trials, and had only now gotten a lead on the man he was looking for. It was not a name that provided the clue enabling him to follow up on his task. It was having him pointed out by a stranger that was sure he'd seen him bringing a barrel into town in a manner that was not like the usual wagonload of barrels an ale brewer would have done.

The barrel was the key. He had been tasked by his matron Immortal to seek out that very barrel, one placed on a ship that had run into trouble and been dispatched in flames. The aukari he was seeking probably did not know it, but the wood of the barrels themselves had been alchemically treated by a fellow agent in Rhakros. The wax that prevented the cargo from soaking into the wood also prevented the chemical from leaking into the cargo.

They contained separate elements for a mutagen that the Immortal Chrien required for a new transformation she wanted to try. Sneaked out of Rhakros by her agent, Chrien could scarcely go to Lisirra for a new batch, or some other compensation. So she'd called on her agent to track down both the surviving barrel, and the aukari that had taken it.

As for the other barrels, the flames would not have ruined the chemicals infused into the wood, provided the vessel sank before they were completely consumed. All indications were that the ship had listed as it burned, so it was likely the barrels had rolled overboard. He needed the aukari to direct him to where the ship had sunk, so the trail of the barrels could be established. He was no alchemist himself, but he understood that the aukari gentleman was. He could only assume the man would have the knowledge to think of a way in which the barrels would leave such a trail.

There was, of course, much distrust directed toward Chrien and her agents. But it was every bit as beneficial to gain her favor; especially in a coastal town like Foster's Landing. He hoped he could persuade the fellow that the potential positive would outweigh the potential negative of doing work for the Mother of Mer.

He checked his directions and found the inn. It took some questions, and some trial and error, but he eventually found himself at a door that matched every clue he'd been given so far. The aukari did not answer though; no one did. Disgruntled, he went down to the common room to order an ale and wait. It was not particularly busy, and as he sat there, he looked around distractedly. His distractions shattered immediately as he set eyes on the man he was surely looking for.

He snatched up his ale and brazenly sat himself opposite the man. He'd opened his shirt enough to let the movement of the top of his mark be seen by the man. "I hope you're not the same closed-minded sort they have up in Etzos." He closed his shirt up again. "That is my confirmation that Chrien is not so bad as folks around here say. She gave me her mark for my service. And that service now brings me to you. I understand you hauled in some pirate loot in a barrel a few trials past."

Knowing that the man would likely think it was what was IN the barrel that was the issue, he spoke again quickly, "Don't worry, you can keep the stuff. It's the barrel I am after; and several more like it. Do you think you could direct me to where the ship sank? I think you'll find it worth your while."

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

It was another tiresome trial Foster's at least it was also another successful trial, maybe. Promoting the establishment was not something he was familiar with especially in the aggressive manner he did it but, it was a lot easier and fulfilling than the other aggressive practice he was trained for. The best part of the venture at least, it was not for some bigoted immortal. Faldrun and his goals, wherever and whatever they were, are long since beneath the concerns of F'mos. The past arc without either to contend with was a significant improvement in his life.

And there were no accomplishments more important than a job well done to draw success closer to the most important person, himself. With only two noteworthy jobs completed in Foster's, one which should not be known to anyone except those who employed him, he thought nothing of the lout who dropped in on him. F'mos had served plenty of sailors at the port over the trials, some which enjoyed his food and some which did not. There was no such thing as bad publicity as far as he was concerned as long as they knew of him. A complete success.

However the manner the man plopped himself on the chair had the aukari feel the reason for the visit was more because of the latter. 'Ugh' he thought to himself at the idea it was going to be another one of those people to deal with. It normally never ended well for the nonhuman. The tattoo was nice and all and F'mos got a little more worried that it might be one of the pirates of an upper tier but no, not really, not after the way the man referred to the rest of the humans in Etzos. It got F'mos a little interested to not immediately bolt out of the door and Chrien?

It only got a lot more interesting...

He was not going to question the man on how he found out about the entire business with the pirates, Sintra's own agents in the last arc had proven to the aukari these people had a way of finding out whatever they wanted. F'mos only nodded and in a hushed tone affirmed the man's claim with a "I'm trying to not let anyone know about that if you don't mind" before he looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear to admit that "you're right" and, that "I'm fine with taking you to where the ship sank."

His agreement sounded easy and maybe it was, but F'mos was quick because he wanted to divert the man's attention from the barrel he had. If it was of value to an immortal, surely it would have value to him and she would not miss one, hopefully. He thought for a moment before he said "if you know that much, you know where survivor's landed, correct?" and if not, F'mos knew where and told the man to meet him there the next trial. Granted they could have went immediately but preparations and precautions had to be made and, F'mos knew work in the dark with a stranger was a bad idea. The night he reserved for himself to determine the location of the barrels first so he could let the man be sure the aukari's cooperation is worth his while.

Which unless the man, "Mr... uhhhh..." whoever was opposed to it, "if we're gonna be lifting barrels, I'm going to need to rest. So, tomorrow?" he asked before he prepared to finish off the rest of his meal to retire for the night.

[Maltruism]

The man gave no reaction to the aukari's concern over whether anyone had been listening in or not. In response to the assumption that he knew where the survivors had come ashore, he simply nodded. "Yes, I do. But they brought no barrels ashore with them, not even as flotations. Which is why I've come to you...Well, that and the fact of the skill you are rumored to possess. Again it is not what's IN the barrels that matter. The wood of the barrels themselves have been treated to seal some alchemical reagents inside, and the 'Storm Queen' would like them recovered."

The priorities of what HE wished to be kept private was made clear by how his voice had become a whisper by the time he was finished. "I am not...one with such skill. But I am loyal to my Queen; AND able to do her bidding without drawing the scrutiny typically reserved for members of her created race. And I can assure you, she would greatly appreciate the benefits of having your talents available."

The way he smiled, and nodded encouragement as he spoke, would make most people believe that the wording of his statement could be taken as a guarantee of her favor. This was, of course, how he meant it to be taken. This was not to say his remarks were entirely false. It WAS to his advantage to be credited with the recruitment of a valuable new Rusalka. But there was worry at the back of his mind that one with a talent so much in line with Chrien's agenda as Alchemy could soon overtake him in favor.

And there was one thing about Chrien's favor that he'd seen affect other Rusalki negatively. If you started in higher favor than another in her eyes, and then fell behind as they overtook you, you were deemed a failure to her. Having at any one time been superior to another meant that you should have all the means necessary to see that you stayed that way. Good luck quickly feel to disastrously bad luck when favor was withdrawn.

He held out his hand amiably, his mind already plotting how he would gain the credit for this recruitment, yet stymie it's advancement. "I am called Agronel. I have a sloop we can use. I will meet you on the morrow then. And if we succeed in this, none will ever need to wish you luck in your future pursuits. For her favor will see it already granted." He scraped back his chair, rose with a nod and took his leave.

If Nauta was to follow him, or see another put to this task, they would find him only to have returned to the sloop he'd mentioned, where he would spend the night briefly ordering his vessel, enjoying a modest drink, and lulling himself to sleep in the tidal sway of his hammock.

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

An odd result from his own findings but the man certainly would not have needed the aukari if those barrels were so easy to find. Still the assertions of Agronel were strange and only made F'mos more determined to check on his own barrel once he had the chance, on his own of course. However any such study would have to wait until the current task was complete, which would hopefully help him obtain a little more information on the items which were so important to both an immortal and her servant. His Queen's favour would only be a bonus and one which would hopefully be adequate to keep the aukari away from the fiend he fled from should Etzos prove not up to the task.

As such there was no reason for F'mos to be suspicious of Agronel's demeanour, moreso than any other person in any case. It also meant there was no reason for the aukari to give Agronel a much more preferential treatment to any other person to approach him with a task, as F'mos shook the man's hand to seal the deal in agreement, along with the reminder along with "her favor, and the stuff in the barrels." Even with whatever reward he suggested from the good luck from Chrien, working for free is probably the worst business practice even the dumbest of people should be able to identify. A label the aukari would prefer to not be associated with him although working with the servant of an immortal, Chrien especially, should been enough already.

But at least she was no Faldrun.

F'mos did not follow the man or at least, saw no reason to as they had to work together anyway and regaining his vigour for the job or any potential treachery after it was completed was to him, the more productive. However he had one more thing to do before he could retire. With the darkness of the night to hide him, he too left although nowhere close to Agronel. The aukari headed to where the faced the pirates on that eventful night and through the same means he reached their ship, the weight against him included, reached where he believed it sank to make a quick survey. Though it has been trials, he had hoped it would be an easy job as some of them should have sunk but the damned water was too obstructive. He just could not hear anything beneath it which meant he had no choice but to wait until Agronel was there with him to investigate...

And it was that very spot where F'mos led Agronel to the next trial aboard the sloop, his directions full of surety though no explanation of his confidence would be given other than the fact the aukari had been there. "Maybe some in water or at shore?" he suggested as he remembered how he got his but as the man had only asked the aukari to lead him to the barrels, where he last knew they were was the best F'mos could do. Unless Agronel had more details to give him of the sought after alchemical reagents inside, or had a much more specific method he wanted to use to conduct their search. The aukari was far from a seaman unlike the man whose lead he followed.

Though that did not mean the aukari was not interested in the man's ship or his methods. While Agronel was distracted with navigating through the waters, F'mos would walk throughout the ship at least as much as Agronel would allow him. "Get used to shaky feely" he said which may be true, although the strange manner F'mos roamed the sloop was more to detect if there were any hidden surprises, other than what he already found or expected when he embarked on this enterprise. That and the small talk he had with the man and his crew to learn more about Agronel would have to be enough for now, to keep his mind off the fact he was stuck in foreign realm and had to take better care of where he thread to avoid going overboard...

[Maltruism]

Agronel had nothing to hide on the sloop. He found it a little amusing that his visitor seemed to think there might be something being concealed from him. Any agenda he might be working had nothing to do with any material aboard. It occurred to him, however, that there were some things sealed and stored away from the elements that might make it look this way. He really didn't know much about them, other than the fact that they were what his alchemist guest was supposed to use to track the drift of the barrels they were looking for.

He decided it was better that he simply inform the man of the cargo, than have him pry the cartons open out of curiosity. He led 'F'mos' down to his personal storage cabinet and showed him the two cartons. He indicated the first one, "This is Salt Buoy powder. I don't know if you've heard of it. I only have it because it was given to me for your use. They called it a 'Filter Catalyst' reagent. It's used to filter substances out of other substances, to get one chemical out of some mix of a bunch of them. I really don't know how it's used. That's what you're here for. I can only imagine it's to see if the tracking agent can be filtered out of the sea water to know if we're on the right track."

He opened a pair of small doors on the floor level of the cabinet and removed the second carton, a portable alchemy kit, "And of course, they gave me this chemistry set, in case you didn't have one handy." He held his hand up to forestall questions for moment as he retrieved a three small vials from a small niche, hidden and locked in a false corner. Checking the labels to be sure he got the names right, he listed off the last three pieces of the puzzle.

"They gave me samples of this...uhh...'Swiftweb'. Okay, as you can see, it's not a web, or the remains of some kind of spider. It's some concentrate from the sap of some cactus. It comes from the Hotlands, I guess; really expensive. Don't use it unless you have to, and then, use the eyedropper to conserve it. It's supposed to greatly boost the potency of whatever it's mixed with."

Replacing that vial, Agronel pulled out a slightly larger vial, with a screw-top lid, containing a light brown powder. Again, he squinted at the label to get his facts straight. "This is 'Naf-Rush', an accelerator. I assume it's for speeding up chemical reactions. If I'm wrong, well, you're the alchemist, so I don't have to tell you what it does. it's from some bird on the Southern Continent."

The last item he removed was handled with great caution, almost as if he was afraid the glass vial did not ensure protection from it. "And this...is 'Still-moka'; a mutagen...THE mutagen. Made from the amniotic fluid of some freak mutant dog from around Rhakros, as if that's some kind of surprise. I guess the newborn pups have the shit all over them when they're born too, I don't know."

The sailor let his passenger examine the items if he wanted, but commented on the combination, "So, together, you've got on of the most powerful mutagens in the world to start, then you've got a metabolizer to make it even more potent; and then an accelerator to make it work faster. We all know about the origins of the Mer. Is it any wonder Chrien wants this shit?"

Replacing the items in their safe locker, he took a deep breath, "So you see, these all originate from areas Chrien can't really get to very easily. They are what were infused and sealed in the wood of the barrels. I suppose you use the Salt Buoy powder to treat something we throw in the water, then we do some rounds to see if it filtered any of these reagents out; give us a lead on which way they might have drifted. I've got some nets, if you think they'll work."

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

There was nothing to be found, save the treasure of alchemical reagents on the ship which Agronel revealed was for the use of the alchemist anyway. It had to be said though F'mos displayed obvious interest, the reagents were not the subject the aukari had on his mind as his host explained each. Attention was given, though not entirely as F'mos was more interested in who the they were which Agronel referred to. Had it been his Queen, he knew even with his poor command of Common the man would have referred to Chrien as at least a she if not whatever title he had reserved for her.

Perhaps they were Chrien's other servants or agents of an entirely different agenda. The supplier of the contents of the barrels perhaps though Agronel never specified unless F'mos was to take the only city mentioned as a hint. Nevertheless he heard their sales pitch through Agronel, as best as the man was expected to communicate it from memory anyway. Only one of the samples, the alchemist was familiar with although he was less afraid and more amused by the man's fear of it. "We won't need that one" F'mos said to reassure the man and there was nothing more to be said about the recipe for disaster if these things made their way into the water.

A repeat of Padfoot's Freakshows. It was lucky someone had the foresight to seal the reagents inside at all as Etzos did not need another incident.

With a hope and a prayer that none of the barrels was breached already, F'mos would not even try to detect the reagents. The aukari asked Agronel for a barrel to test its seal as he assumed the man would have to receive his samples somehow. Hopefully it was by the same means the others were transported before he stored them in his hidden corner F'mos now knew of, hah! "I hope I can make something work before dark" the aukari commented as a search would be troublesome without the light and F'mos did not want to stay on the boat overnight if he could help it. There was nothing more... uncomfortable he could think of, now that he was exposed to the conditions he would have to put up with.

This was an important consideration especially with the rocking which was more dangerous than troublesome for work which needed accuracy like alchemy. Fortunately he was not to work with the still-moka. Unfortunately the poor conditions added to his time but with the materials already provided and their use explained to him, the aukari supposed it evened out somehow. The barrel he got he tested for reagents absorbed and then tested the sealant itself for a reaction with seawater. After that he tested the wood of the barrel laden with both reagents and sealant itself. The reaction was promising but still not quite there yet. He needed something else to work with the water itself as the sloop made its way to their prize.

He needed something which the sloop already had in abundance and something Agronel could spare. Cloth and wood were out as he found they interfered with the reaction he needed but rope? It was perfect. The rope had to be mixed with the most important item for his tracker, the Salt Buoy powder but that was not even the compound's final form. First the powder had to have its effectiveness increased with the Swiftweb which F'mos used as much needed without a care for Agronel's desire to use it sparingly. If his creation failed to find the barrels, it would be all for naught so he reasoned there was no point in keeping the little at the expanse of their bounty.

After the compound bonded with the rope, it was further treated with Naf-Rush; he had no intention to spend trials at sea. Once sure the rope was applied fully with his creation he had a little test and refined it further. Only after the alchemist could consider his work truly complete, he handed it over to Agronel with the instruction to "put rope in water. Will filter sea water and eat sealant. Float towards more sealant like snake, towards barrels." After a few moments to think on it and with no desire to make another, he added "maybe keep it floating above net. Pull back if it gets too far. Don't want to waste your Swiftweb. If snake stop moving, retrieve, dry and put back in." If nothing else that may be a reason to convince Agronel since the man already expressed the importance of the material.

[Maltruism]

As his guest explained what they were going to try, Agronel's expression made it clear he was having trouble understanding. It was not the aukari's broken common that made it difficult, it was the Impression that the chemical reaction was going to take on an almost live nature, with the metabolized accelerant causing the reaction to continue to actually seek more of the reagent to perpetuate its purpose.

"Well, you're the alchemist." he shrugged, setting to work, with numerous questions about exactly how much, in what order, and with what method, to apply the combinations of chemicals. His insight served him well against the barely adequate common in which his instructions were received, and the two soon had the rope net prepared.

They rolled the net off the aft end, like a trawler, releasing it instead of dragging it behind. They also dropped a small marker buoy, so they'd have some confirmation of any drift not accounted for by the regular currents present. Then it was just a matter of sailing a slow, leisurely circle to come back around and see if there was any indication of an odd drift of the net.

Nothing was out of the ordinary the first two times, and the trial was starting to run into afternoon by the time they'd made their third unsuccessful attempt. It was the rerolling of the thing, after using the flag crank to hoist it up from the water to dry, that most taxed Agronel's patience. "I don't mind sailing in circles, mind you. 'Thelle, I do that for relaxation.

He gestured with a thumb to the net hanging from the mast and draped over the three sides of the aft end, "But I'm not doin' this more than two more times before callin' it for the trial. I'm not sailin' back either. We spend the night on the water, pal. Pick back up in the mornin'. I hope you can sleep in a hammock."

Maybe there's some magic in complaining, because the next attempt garnered results. It was not that the net pulled in some direction that conflicted with the currents, nor could any other chemical reaction be seen. But evidence of one came clearly into view in the shape of a sea turtle that swam by so fast that it left a rooster-tail behind it and kicked up enough of a wake to actually rock the sloop.

The two men's eyes mirrored each other in the way they bugged in surprise, held forward for identical ticks, then turned to each other. Their voices did the same as they both uttered "Accelerator!" with the same enthusiasm. Agronel immediately spun to race to the wheel, taking quick glances skyward which were frustrated by overcast.

He diverted quickly to the compass, shouting the names of his two crewmen to ready themselves. "Hard to starboard and due southwest boys! We're takin' a close haul windward to port! Be ready about." The crewmen jumped to positions fore and aft to man sails and ropes as Agronel looked back at F'mos, "You, mister. Either get to the forward rail and watch for more turtles, or get below. But ya can't stand there, or you'll be losing a head when we come about."

Agronel took a moment to focus his Rusalkis blessing, and the sea itself revamped its surface conditions to optimum degrees. The vessel made swift zig-zagging progress southwest.

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

By his expression, F'mos seemed a little... uneasy. He already did the job to the best of his abilities despite the limited resources he was given rather quickly and yet, Agronel seemed difficult. In fact while the attitude was something the aukari would tolerate, as if the sailor was like some of the more rowdy customers he had to serve in Etzos- not the ones in the Kettle Black as they are much more community minded but the sailors in Foster's only just a few trials ago; it was something the man said which added just a little bit more into the already explosive alchemist. It may have been some sort of sailor slang or term used in Etzos which F'mos had yet to get used to but ''Thelle' reminded him too much of his origin.

And he really did not need the reminder.

Especially as aukari always though themselves superior to the other races, it was only inevitable that the idea would come in a rather condescending tone as F'mos pointed out "got you to place ship sink, got you easy tool. You're the seaman, finding out best place to use tool from is yours." It was inconceivable to F'mos that the two failed attempts was somehow his fault; especially when he had painstakingly worked on the rope to be more effective at its task. The alchemist did not go further than that however as the last thing he needed was to be thrown overboard by the captain but maybe his motivational speech actually worked, because something different actually happened.

Effectively a tourist to the sea compared to Agronel, F'mos did not actually consider the speed of the turtle to be anything out of the ordinary. As far as he was concerned, turtles were something for the fisherman to capture and their speed or lack of, was their problem. As a chef, the aukari's only job and required knowledge of the creatures were how to best prepare them for consumption. However the reaction of the rest of the seasoned seamen were a good enough indicator for him to realize the turtles were a sign they were close and he too picked up on their enthusiasm. In agreement he only yelled excitedly, go! Go! Go!!" as he pointed towards the direction he assumed the creature came from.

It was not like a hammock sounded bad to him as he had experienced worse back in the service but a night out in the sea sounded uncomfortable to the fireman, even if the seamen have no trouble with it. The shiptalk used by Agronel too, was something which was troublesome as F'mos had no idea what it meant. Were there even stars at that time of the day? Nevertheless, the instruction which was specifically directed to him by Agronel was something the aukari could understand and despite his apprehension towards the possibility of losing his head, the alchemist was not about to get down below deck. He would lose out on the opportunity to observe the effects of the mutagen, something which would prove to be useful in his own work.

And so F'mos took his position at the forward rail, making sure to get some additional safety instructions by whichever member of the crew looked free so he would not go overboard and be lost, forever. At the very least no one could say he was not thorough in whatever he needed to do, unlike the alchemist who worked on the original barrels which had their prize as if it was F'mos, he could safely boast any sealant he made would not have failed. He had too much confidence in his peers as if he had worked with the expectation they failed, he could have saved himself a lot of trouble by making a tool to track the mutagens instead.

Nevertheless he soon regretted the idea of not going below deck as sickness soon took him from the violent zig-zagging of Agronel. Watch for more turtles? He could barely even be sure if the sloop was in the water, or in the air. He would not even be surprised if the rest of the crew thought his pointing out of directions to be the sounds of him losing the contents of his own stomach.

[Maltruism]

Agronel sighed with taxed patience as he explained to his guest the bare minimum of what his terminology had meant. He explained that running directly into the wind was not possible, regardless of the blessing with which he'd smoothed the surface and redirected the current. After all, the winds were not technically Chrien's domain, save for when they thrashed with a storm.

He explained that a "following" sea was one which ran in the same direction a vessel was traveling. He then explained how little good such a current did for a ship that was "tacking", which he described as the zig-zagging they were doing to make progress against the wind. The wind would not drive them back as they crossed perpendicularly in front of it, but they could catch enough of it as they reversed their direction, or "came about", to give them momentum to ride at a forward angle as they crossed the wind's path. Then they would do the same as they came back the other way.

The Following Sea did help them some, but Agronel's main point was that the boom spar, at the base of the sail, needed to be switched back and forth to catch the wind as they reversed direction. Therein lay the hazard of getting beaned in the head, or being pitched into the sea, he explained. By that time they were already in the midst of coming about, and Agronel just shook his head as the aukari dizzily slumped at the rail. The sailor wondered if vomit would have any impact on the spontaneous alchemy going on in the rolling waves. He chuckled inwardly that they were likely soon to find out.

If any such thing occurred though, it was lost in the business of keeping their heading as steady as tacking allowed. It was not long before the alchemist's theory appeared to be validated. The net began to take on a slack look, which belied the assumption that it would be stretched out behind them. It was soon riding the currents right beside them. Admittedly, it was not affected by the wind, but still, it was demonstrating an impetus of its own, just like the aukari had hoped.

Agronel's expression took on an eager look, which turned darkly aggressive as the shapes of rounded objects became noticeable, in his spyglass, against a rocky shallow defining the seaward edge of a small island off the continental coast. He pulled his head just a bit to the side to find his two crewmen already looking his way. He smiled back at them, his intent confirmed silently in the nod he directed toward F'Mos.

It was possible that the weight of the men approaching might have set the small vessel bobbing in a slightly different pattern than that which had long been established by the repetitive actions of the sailors aboard. Or maybe just the slight departure from the sounds and motions of those actions being inexplicitly halted. The fact that the two men needed to avoid loud stomping steps across the deck, made their approach slow; possibly slow enough to make the new motions and altered sounds of activity give their target a warning.

In any case, the men rushed the last few ticks with the intent of grabbing the aukari by the ankles, to lift and hold him headlong over the rail for Agronel to give some speech of feigned regret for his betrayal.

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

In his weakness, it was a surprise F'mos was able to pick out the important bits of Agronel's lecture but then again, he would not be much of an alchemist if he lacked the ability to retain knowledge of all the things he encountered. As much as he knew about Chrien- though her creations and how to best them in battle on behalf of Sirothelle's warmonger, he was confounded that the blessing bestowed on Agronel was only so useful for their voyage. The man was only human and would have more difficulty in her domain compared to the Mer. That was already an impediment to his chosen vocation.

Though somehow, they got through; F'mos would have to chalk that up to Agronel's ability as a seaman. As sick as he was however, he could not but wonder if he would be a lot more... well, well if Agronel was better sailor but there was no baseline for the aukari to measure the other man to. His own contribution to the conversation were the first things which came to mind; something about getting more of a lift for a better speed in their overall journey if the wind was such an important consideration. Definitely not something an aukari should know enough to talk about. Perhaps the sickness was already settling in this particular aukari as he agreed with the need to zigzag to remain aloft while making good time.

F'mos would wonder at how he knew these things had he been well enough to notice although it was just his mind, vacated from sickness, processing his own experience in the air. Maybe he would remember enough to refine his own methods later on but there was something more important to him.

Being so close to their destination and with a moment's peace, the aukari went on to replenish the lost contents of his stomach- it felt as though something important may have even went overboard. He was on the third of some weird dried and salted biscuit Agronel had, his delicate tastebuds shrieked in distress but beggars could not be choosers. Anything would do to keep his mind off that tasteless, bland pastry and as it so happened to be, anything also included the ineffectively concealed approach by the sailors. Not everyone in Idalos could be of the glorious master race of Sirothelle.

It is not a sure thing F'mos would not have made the same mistakes- he was not that used to ships after all but at least, now he knew. To one trained to slink around unseen and unheard, the attempts of the men to approach him quietly were much more louder than if they had just stomped on as usual to reach him and would at least, not have given their intents away if the floorboards which bowed at the weight of the sailors as they came from behind had not done so already. Perhaps F'mos could take them on. Unlike them, he actually had the element of surprise but his in earlier survey of the unfamiliar ship, he knew he would still have to contend with Agronel.

The same person he actually put his safety on when he agreed to the voyage that he even left his more dangerous and destructive tools behind. A mistake he will not repeat the next time, if there ever was one...

Even if it was only a little bit, the slow approach of the two men gave F'mos some time to consider his options. He definitely could not fight them all off but could he hide? He did explore the ship a little bit but the only place which may seem suitable is the room he made the rope-tool. The most obvious place to the people familiar enough with the ship and even if the aukari could barricade the door, it would only be a matter of time before they got in or, until he had to go out. Then he got the most ridiculous idea...

...could he maybe beat Agronel to the island first?

There would be no point to that but there was nowhere else to go. Under the most favorable circumstances he might be able to beat the man to their prize and use it to treat his return home and if not, he could just mix up some terrible mutative cocktail to inflict on him and his crew. Let them all kill each other and then figure if he could sail the ship back to Etzos. A bit of wishful thinking, but... The island then would be his destination and as the two men approached him, F'mos took out one of his defensive tools threw it at his feet which released a smoke to screen him from everyone else for a while.

It was all he could do to make a grab at the other two while they were still disoriented. His feet planted firmly on the ground, as firmly as the jerky ship would allow him, his hands went straight for their arms as he tried to throw them towards the rails- his burning blood might even help to distract them even more. There may be splashy sounds if they went over, hopefully they would believe the aukari to be among them after he quickly stripped down to secure his belongings and shift. F'mos would follow over the rails although he would never touch the water. If it went as planned, his newly grown wings would keep him aloft while his strange method of hearing would navigate him to one of the ships blindspot where he could lie in wait.

After that it would only be a matter of waiting for his opportunity to head to the island himself once Agronel and his crew were done with his search for him or, wait until they made landfall for their search for the barrels where he could return to the ship for preparations for some delicious payback.