Two months passed with Ameni and Laverm stuck in their horrid conditions on their ships, over the time they formed a deep and comprehensive friendship, the type of friendship one cherishes for most of their lives. Eventually, they were able to persevere till the ship reached the dock of Atheron, the capital of the colonies. They were unceremoniously thrown overboard into the port, and told to handle themselves, seeing as they had paid their debts to society due to their punishment being the deportation itself. The two stared in wonder around themselves.

The port was a wide crescent, with neatly lain stone bricks constituting the floor, buildings, built out of concrete, a rarity in this world, painted bright colours with intricate facades constructed out of stone that contrasted with the concrete, and French windows cut into in orderly intervals, which completely surrounded three sides of the duo. There was a veritable crowd of people doing everything from doing paperwork, pushing magically floating palettes of supplies and saleable resources, solicitors trying to convince Surf Captains to enter into ruinous contracts, merchants in roadside stalls selling Mageblood, for fuel, Bronzewood, for repairs, and, Compact Jerky, for food, with beggars pestering the entire lot getting roughly ignored by the crowd. The contrasting smells of sweat and sweet food complimented the loud chatter and gossip of the crowd. However, the most eye-catching part of the entire port was the sea, which was covered with a coat of a thick, low hanging coat of what seemed to be some kind of black tar. Animal carcasses and bones openly hung inside and on top of the substance, with it producing an absolutely horrid smell.

“So this is the SLUDGE”, Ameni thought, backing into the port a bit

The Sludge was a thick, oily substance formed from rotting animal carcasses that floated to the top of the western side of the surf, which was very dense due to the presence of trace amounts of an ore called orichalcum, which gave the surf strange and mysterious properties. This was the main reason why the western colonies were deemed unsafe for most human habitation, as, the sludge polluted all types of useable water, making it unsafe, requiring the import of water from the old world, forcing colonists to drink distilled beverages such as beer or mead, or pay the premium for imported water. Surf Ships utilised gigantic wheels on either sides of the deck to move through the sludge, however powering these wheels required mageblood, which would facilitate the magical channelling of stored energy into motion. This all made sailing in the colonies a costly, unpleasant, and due to the large population of Surf Monsters, and dangerous affair, however one that was extremely rewarding, as many populations of peoples lived in the many islands and colonies set up, who would pay exorbitant prices for most necessities.

Multiple Surf-Ships, with their Bronzewood hulls ,gigantic sterns and masts, as well as a population of sailors, concentrating on their jobs with furrowed eyebrows and angry eyes, littered the Surf on top of the sludge.

Ameni marvelled at what he saw, the hustle and bustle reminding him strongly of home, as he reminisced to the time his father had brought him to the docks of the free city for the first time, tears began to form in his eyes as he did so.

“It’s beautiful on one side and absolutely disgusting on the other, is it not”, Laverm said, snapping Ameni out of his trance

“Wha- oh yes, yes it is”, Ameni responded, “So, what now, Laverm? What do you plan on doing?”

“I don’t know, to be honest”, Laverm retorted, “I was kinda just planning on figuring it out as I went. What about you”

“I plan on becoming a Surf Quartermaster”, Ameni said, putting a hand on his left breast, “I have something that can put me apart from the competition”

“Magic?”, Laverm asked, he had been told about Ameni’s condition by him, and though he sympathized, he still did not lose any opportunity to tease him about it

“Shut”, Ameni said, “No, it’s something far more valuable”

“It’s knowledge”, Ameni proudly continued, “As the heir-apparent of a merchant family, I have been trained with some very important skills, enough to get someone to invest in me, at the very least”

“Hmmm”, Laverm said, “Got room for two on that dream of yours?”

“Actually”, Ameni responded, giving Laverm a once over, “You would most certainly be useful for my endeavours. Hmmmmm, how do you feel”, he paused for effect, “About being a Surf Captain? You have the charisma, and the magical prowess, as well as being someone I can trust. So… What about it?”, he took out a hand, and requested a handshake.

Laverm accepted it, vigorously shaking his hand, “You got yourself a partnership”

Ameni grinned and looked around,

“Now to track investors”, he said