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Message: <blockquote data-quote="peteyfrogboy" data-source="post: 1086349" data-attributes="member: 5677">BeginningsThe Silver Wind sat low in the water beside the pier. Since her launch six months ago, she had been through a lot. Her maiden voyage from Freeport to the distant lands of the Far West was a success, however. Her hold was loaded with spices, silk, and other exotic goods.In addition to trade goods, the explorers had returned with a new crew member. Gambumbo Weego joined the crew to replace the ship's cook who went missing during their resupply stop at one of the many small islands in the middle of the Astra Ocean. He had taken to his new duties easily, keeping the ship fed during the last two months before they reached Freeport. There had been no losses among the crew due to hunger or malnutrition, though a couple of them had apparently gone overboard in the night.Gambumbo descended the gangplank along with the rest of the crew. He stood out from his fellows, his sun-baked and tattooed face outside of even the broad diversity of Ahandrian coloration. As he reached the bottom of the ramp he was greeted by Captain Kayleigh Harrington with her thanks and a heavy pouch of coin. Gambumbo favored her with his unnerving sharp-toothed smile as he received his wages and headed into the city.After a visit to the market, he walked north to explore more of the city. Soon enough he found himself alone on a small side street. He never heard the footsteps approching behind him, nor the sap swinging toward his skull...***Parika leaped off the ship before it had even stopped moving. Two weeks aboard with nothing but cattle and the captain for company was enough. Fortunately for her, the captain was too old to act on any of his lecherous thoughts and the crew had been too busy. The price had been right, though, and she had made it to Freeport with most of her savings intact.Freeport was far different from the sprawling cities she was used to in Ahandria. Everything here seemed to be squeezed together, with many buildings two or even three stories tall. At least the crowds of people were familiar to her. For the first time in her life, though, she didn't feel self-conscious about the fey features she had inherited from her father. There were Ahandrians, Morils, Kufriti, Tavians, even Dhevrils and Wildermen here in the throng. Stranger still, she saw a variety of non-humans of all shapes and sizes. No one spared them a passing glance, not even the orcs.She reflexively checked her coin purse before joining the morning street traffic. Her first order of business was to find some real food. More or less at random, she wandered inland a block or so and ended up at the Black Gull. The place was mostly empty, with only a few bleary eyed sailors trying to recall (or forget) the events of the previous night. Parika ordered herself a bowl of stew and wine and retired to a corner table.With a long sigh, the half-elf allowed herself to relax a little. Everything she had ever known was now six hundred miles away across the Dragon Sea. The parents who had abandoned her, the orphanage and its depraved priests, even the city streets where she had learned to fend for herself. Like so many others before, Parika saw Freeport as a fresh start. This was a place where she could finally pursue her own dreams.The exact nature of those dreams was still somewhat vague. The easy domestic life held little appeal. Parika wanted to be in control of her own life, but she had no faith in traditional authority figures. The only people in power that she had any respect for were the crime bosses who ruled over the city streets. They were dishonest by definition, of course, but at least they didn't pretend to be virtuous. The trick, of course, was that she didn't know exactly how to begin a great career in crime.As she ate her breakfast, the half-elf took in her surroundings. Aside from the barkeep and his pet raven, the place seemed to consist solely of sailors. Not really the best source of information on the local underworld. In all likelihood, they knew as little about Freeport as she did. Just as she was about to leave, however, someone came through the door who caught her eye. It would have been hard for the newcomer to contrast more with the rest of the Black Gull's clientele. She wore a gown of blue silk that turned heads as she entered. Her dark hair was in several braids in the Kufriti style, and her features were accentuated by cosmetic skill worthy of any courtesan. Her eyes traversed the room as she gracefully floated toward a table. As she saw Parika, she gave a smile and a tiny nod. Seating herself, the woman in blue signaled the bartender for a pitcher of wine.Parika was naturally intrigued by this butterfly in a room full of moths. She felt uncomfortable approaching a complete stranger, but at the moment everyone fell into that category. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, she told herself as she went to say hello."May I join you?" she asked as she came to the woman's table.The woman in blue looked up and smiled. "Certainly." She gestured to a chair and Parika sat. "I'm waiting for a friend of mine and would appreciate the company." The woman gave Parika a quick, appraising glance. "You're new in town, I presume?"Parika chuckled uncomfortably. "What gave me away?""One doesn't normally find a woman alone in a place like this, at least not at this hour." She thanked the barkeep as he brought her a pitcher and goblet. She poured some of the dark red wine for herself, then offered to refill Parika's cup. The two continued to chat, but as Parika drank she began to have trouble following the conversation. She tried to figure out when her companion would have had a chance to drug her drink, but by that point, logical thought had become impossible.</blockquote>

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