[sblock=Brerrick Info Recap]
So, Brerrick, Mery's father, related several pieces of important info to Malachi, Wakil, and N'un T'Chauck over the course of an evening which I will attempt to recreate here in a much less eloquent form.
Brerrick talked about a group of slavers that came from the Far West. When they arrived, they allied with the meanest, most cowardly, most underhanded family around, the Bledsum clan. Using the Bledsum's merchant rank and contacts, they were able to trade through the port of Tortila. While the City Council couldn't keep them out entirely, they did enact a law that prohibited slave trading inside the city, and they enacted a hefty harbor tax for all human cargo moving through the bay. The foreigners set up a compound north of the city with high palisades, a fortified keep, and a thriving slave market. Many people assume that, because of the high tariffs, a large number of slaves are traded on the black market. Of course, whenever anyone goes missing, the slavers are blamed, but no one ever finds any proof linking them to the disappearances. Anyone who goes looking simply disappears as well.
With the introduction of cheap slaves, Tortila's oldest commodity, that of the prostitute, turned decidedly unpleasant. There are very few reasons for someone to buy a very young female slave, but with good marketing the foreigners were able to introduce young girls to the Tortila Brothels. Certain high ranking members of the community made it "fashionable" to frequent establishments touting only the youngest of slaves. The Lolita complex took hold, and soon most places were advertising young women. The City Council struck back, too little too late, and the youngest brothels simply moved into unmarked warehouses. The fad passed, as fads do, but the warehouses remained.
As Tortila went downhill, the upper class began moving away, headed for the more stable Central Kingdoms to the west. Then, news started coming up from the south.
At the southern-most tip of the continent is a chain of islands that extend south. They eventually meet up with a large group of islands that extend both east and west called The Belt. It is a commonly held belief that these islands extend all the way around the world. Sailors from the south brought tales of those strange, pointy-eared elves from the continent across the Eastern Ocean, Cellador. The tales they carried claimed the elves were moving in, taking over The Belt, and moving north up the coast. As the frequency and detail of these stories increased, more folks started to pack up and head inland. Tortila remained an important trading hub, and foreign trade did not slacken, so opportunities increased for those who remained. Then, relatively quickly, trade slowed to a trickle. Some said the eastern markets were more lucrative, others that the elves stifled trade from the south. Folks began to leave the city in greater numbers as rumblings were heard on the horizon. The only ones to stay were the very hearty, the very poor, the very corrupt, and the completely unconcerned. The Pander Ban is the first ship to come in for three days, and her cargo can probably fetch a good price.
And that's about it. Brerrick and his daughter Mery decided to leave, and N'un T'Chauck went with them.
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