Harbour

A ship sails away bearing Princes Daenya and her escort along the coast.

Shortly after they had sailed, Rhaegar approached his grandfather who stood near the wheel.

"Well my lord." he said addressing his grandfather formally in front of the captain. "To where are we bound?"

Rhaegar shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't put it past him. Though if we take suitable precautions, then the chances of betrayal are lessened."

He glanced at his cousin across the deck. "In any case, having Daenya in his possession would not have guaranteed Vandaras as well." A small wry smile broke out on his face. "In fact if Vandaras was still alive, I doubt this exchange would be taking place at all. As far as I understand it, Maekar is paying for Daenya's person only."

Rhaegar nodded. "Visenya is the wife of Maekar. Apparently some call her queen these days. Many do not. Myself included." he said so his grandfather could hear.

Rhaegar indicated Daenya and grimaced. "She is Maeker's half-sister. Daenya has another brother who will not take kindly to her being ransomed to Maekar." He thought for a moment. "But she is important to both. Maekar's party will bring at least one dragon rider to make sure the transfer goes smoothy. Perhaps more. We should be prepared for possible treachery."

"Perhaps." relied Rhaegar. ""But we cannot count on it. The winning side is likely to have some dragons left at the end. And if they then turn them towards Dorne to settle old scores, then Dorne will burn from more than just the midday sun."

Ser Olyvar nodded. "Of course. It's Rhaegar's ship, commanded by my good friend Ser Arron of Shandystone. Don't worry, all will be well. Arron is...not the sharpest spear in the armoury, but he is a good friend and a brave warrior. He can be relied upon."

Olyvar trotted ahead and after a while spotted an ordinary looking ship, probably not built in Dorne or Westeros, as far as Elyas could tell. No banners flew from the mast but Olyvar turned to Elyas and Catelyn with confidence. "This one. Let's go. We will have to leave the horses behind, but someone can help with that."

He spurred his mount forward, dismounted with a leap and threw the bridle to a startled sailor, promising him a drink if he kept the horse for the moment.

Catelyn smiled and said "Oh, how chivalrous! I don't need any help, not really, but I will let you help me this time."

Behind them, Olyvar could be heard talking to one of the sailors aboard the ship, asking for Ser Arron.

Elyas and Catelyn didn't have long to wait before Olyvar called over "Arron is waiting for us. He will send one of the men to make arrangements for the horses once we are aboard. We sail within the hour."

OOC - yeah, unless you want to?

The group was shown to two cabins, one for Elyas and Olyvar to share, and another for Catelyn, whose sex meant she had to be given a cabin of her own for the sake of propriety. "I shall miss my dear horse," she said. "But I'd heard horses and ships don't mix very well. Isn't it exciting?" She looked around with a great deal of curiosity.

Olyvar, of course, was familiar with the ship. He said to Elyas "Come and meet Ser Arron. He'll be in the captain's cabin. This is quite a step up for him. He's no bastard, like us, but his family is nothing remarkable."

Ser Arron turned out to be fairer of skin and hair than Olyvar. He was a handsome fellow, considerably taller and brawnier than Olyvar, who quickly performed the introductions.

"So you are Olyvar's cousin. Well met. Where is our friend Rhaegar, Olyvar?"

Olyvar winced. "Rhaegar is not coming. He is probably captured or dead. But you may trust my cousin. He knows where we are bound, and why. We have been pardoned by Princess Sarella's command. That was Rhaegar's doing, his and Prince Trystane's. We owe them a great debt. Our duty now is to ensure that Ser Elyas has the best possible chance to do what must be done, at Prince Trystane's command."

Arron glanced at Elyas. "So much responsibility. I don't envy you, Ser Elyas. I'm glad I'm jsut the captain of the ship now."

"I shall," Arron agreed. "I fought beside Olyvar many times over, against bandits and later against mercenaries. We'll do what we can to protect you."

Olyvar, who knew the true dangers of their quest more than Arron did, frowned, but said only "Come, my friends, let us be off. We shall drink to victory and prepare ourselves for the task ahead."