"Go for it. Don't risk listening in on them, they'll not talk shop out here and trying anything ends up with us knocked out or dead and this isn't, y'know, all sanctioned or anything." Who knows where you are right now Ellana, who you're with, what you're doing, when you should be back? Who'd think that it's not some secret assignment you had to fib about because you're a mage who knows weird stealth spells mages generally don't know? (He's paranoid, he doesn't like this, why are there people he knows here?)

So he counts whenever Ellana goes, keeps an eye out for anyone who might react and tries to just look like a dwarf who has a reason to hang out by the docks all casual like, just sorting through the contents of his pockets. If anyone bothers to come ask what he thinks he's up to mate then he's waiting for a lass, smell of the salt air overwhelmed her, you know how it is with some of them. Land ships and sailing ships, two different things and they'll both laugh, he'll feel bad but when does he not these days?
FOLLOW UP: who does the ship belong to, who does the captain work for, who owns that building, if they pursue the docks do they go back to the building and investigate it?