“The seeds of revolution have always existed, for better or worse. Its something we all share between each other whether Beastkin, Men or Mer. We are stuck between the old ways of thinking and the more awful ways; there is an opportunity in this, we have to make a new way of thinking and it needs to be built on compassion and empathy. No one ever get out of life alive regardless of how long you live, slavery is no way to live and neither is war. The truth of the matter is the only bloodless revolutions are the ones that fail to start to begin with, even a revolution of the mind requires something to be destroyed or surrendered for there to be any real progress. Your revolution is important but know it will not be the last as we attempt to make our world a better place.” Salindor Lichtbringer, 1612, The Siege of Blood Palace.

1509.4.24

A small lizard-like humanoid creature no more than three feet tall sat on a barstool to his oversized desk, a low soft rocking moved the being back and forth but they seemed to be used to this movement and naturally swayed with the soft movements underneath them. The sounds of clinking coins could also be heard from here as well as the mutterings of the creature as they counted their coin.

“Fifty three, fifty seven, sixty three, sixty seven…” The creature continued counting when suddenly something knocked on his door loudly and rapidly. “God’s blast it! I was just about done!”

The knocking continued even while the being scribbled something down on a piece of parchment on their table.

“I’m coming, I’m coming! That better not be you Fillus cuz I know you owe me money and you won’t get any more reagents until you pay me back!” The knocking stops and is instead replaced with an attempt to break into the room, some kicking and desperate pulling and pushing on the door itself. Something suggested to the lizard that whomever they were that they were small and had a lower centre of mass. When they’d finally opened the door the being wasn’t surprised to see who it was.

“Fillus you heard me right? I ain’t giving you nothing until you pay me back!” The being looked at another lizard creature similar to himself.

“Come little ghekling, its time for you to pay up my favour!” A cruel tone to a voice in the distance could be heard.

“Get inside you fool! We can’t let him see us!” Fillus then shut the door behind them while the other ghekling looked for anything that might block the door.

“Kiki! It's the Ashokian magicks man!” Kiki the ghekling that was originally counting the coin before their kin showed up with trouble just baulked back silently.

“Fillus you owe the magicks man not I!” Fillus was clearly uncomfortable, tapping their feet nervously on the ground and unable to sit still.

“Kiki, no please I am your brother! Fellow hatchmate! We hatched next to each other!” But Kiki just shook their head and sighed. Next there was a soft and clear knock at the door.

“Hey Kiki, did I just see Fil enter your office? Would you mind opening the door so we can have a discussion.” The voice on the other side had a note of cheer to it, and the Gheklings cowered anyways.

“Su- Sure thing Sal!” Kiki called out and moved towards the door, Fillus immediately attempts to tackle Kiki. Succeeding the two begin wrestling on the floor with Fillus on top and Kiki on their belly with an arm behind their back. “Fillus get off me! You know when the magicks men ask I am not allowed to deny them!”

“It's quite alright Kiki.” Sal, a black haired black robed mage then uttering something and melts a hole the size of a watermelon, the former wooden door dripping with a sickly yellowish liquid from the hole itself; then with a gloved hand unlocks and opens the door with a turn of the handle. “See no problem Kiki.”

Fillus let’s their sibling go.

“Look look! Sal we can talk about this!”

“Yes we can Fil, sit down.” The mage’s hand makes a wave of his hand.

Phetra Tele

A chair lifts itself off of the messy office floor and is moved behind Fillus, Kiki takes a seat behind their desk and the only one left standing is Sal.

“Don’t hurt my hatchmate too badly Sal, I do still need him.” Sal simply tossed Kiki a wink.

“I actually have an opportunity to wipe your debt, Fillus.” At that the gheklings’ ears perked up.

“Does it involve murder?” Sal noted the eagerness in the ghekling's voice.

“Hopefully not but you can’t rule it out, I need you to protect and hide an asset for me,” Sal then waves his hand again outside the doorway.

Phetra Tele

A tied up dark elven boy is then pulled in by some invisible force, with their mouth gagged and arms and legs tied though separately.

“He needs to learn manners first so that I am here to make sure that he doesn’t die, him and his brothers and sisters are on the run and it’s imperative that you keep this one safe…” There was a dismissiveness to the mage’s voice that gave both the Gheklings a shiver. “On top of that if you can keep this one hidden and safe for the time being then I will even pay you as I gather the others. They are important tools for our mutual enemy so you know exactly what is at stake.”

“Sal, you speak of the blood witch?” Kiki interrupted their sibling. “If its to make sure she will stay dead this time then I would happily do this for you for free, payment of course is still appreciated but Quisstae are a special hate for us dragonfolk. Peoples being blood slaves are a fate undeserving of all but the worse peoples.”

“I am glad you agree Kiki, does Imperial coinage work or do you require payment in the form of… Whatever currency you use here in Red Rock?” Kiki gave the mage an eyebrow?

“The only other currency I know of is Jangese Script but even they take Imperial coins, your brain boiled Magicks man?” Sal would’ve scowled if he didn’t have some small favouritism for the creature before him.

Miscalculated when I was I suppose.

“No no Kiki I just get confused sometimes I travel all over and the Imperial currency isn’t as strong as it used to be. Elantra won’t take it anymore and neither does the Eastern Protectorate so I was making sure to cover my bases before I give you a down payment.”

That got the Ghekling’s attention, soft jingle of coin in a pouch the mage picks up the pouch from inside his robes and tosses it to Kiki’s desk.

“Sal you are most generous as always.” Kiki gave Fillus a scowl. “We will make sure that the young elf is safe as an egg in a nest!”

“He will try to escape, he’s a slippery little bugger but I figure who best to find a slippery bastard then a couple of my favourite slippery bastards.”

“Favourite?” Fillus wagged their small ratlike tail, the mage then waved his hand dismissively.

“My favourite rats for sure, otherwise Fil I would’ve melted you slowly already.” With that both Gheklings simply stared back at Sal in fear. The mage smiled back at them and turned to leave the office with the young dark elf boy and him struggling in his binds.

“What do now Kiki?”

“We make sure our elfling here is safe and then we try to explain things to him so that perhaps he tries to not run away. Not that there is much where to go here in Red Rock.” Kiki seeming to deflate and relax the moment the mage had left. Fillus still held an edge of anxiety however.

“Magicks man’s deals always screw us though!”

“Magicks man wants the Quisstae to suffer as do we, our mutual enemy protects us Fillus, besides…” Kiki opens the coin purse to reveal golden coins numbering well over a hundred or more.

“Blood witches make my scales crawl…” Fillus shudders again. “I am not sure which I fear more though the Magicks peoples or the Quisstae.”

“Well this particular Quisstae is as clever as she is evil and thus I fear her more then Sal, the Magicks man who only has a problem with you, Fillus.” That earned Kiki a scowl, the two worked to move the dark elf to another safe house after locking up Kiki’s office. Kiki put their money in a backpack before they moved through the streets with their new ward as unwilling as their prisoner was; it seemed imperative that the black robed mage needed him and others alive for some purpose. The gheklings move through Red Rock with their quarry in tow, quickly discovering that they have to drag him through the wooden streets of the floating city mostly because they didn’t trust that the boy wouldn’t just run off. When they eventually get to the abode, an old captain's quarter with a ramshackle shack built atop with the right side of the ship's starwell being integrated into the shack as a sort of split level apartment style home for the two. The shouts of a nearby tavern can also be heard, the sounds of fighting in the distance and the distant screams of some being dying or being badly wounded in the distance.

“Okay boy can you behave yourself here? We needs trust amongst us three so that you don’t end up dead in an alley.” Kiki pokes the dark elf in the nose, it seemed the boy himself still had an indignant look on his face.

“Maybe the boy doesn’t know just how much danger he is in?” Fillus scratched his scalp scales. “Okay okay lemme explain better than my hatchmate, you and your body are wanted by your former owner, we not sure if you are fully branded but more than you are blood bonded to them in some way. So we have to make sure you are hidden and eventually Kiki will find something so you might disguise yourself here in Red Rock so that you can stretch your legs and not get the rope cramps.”

“Fillus we cannot let the boy walk around Red Rock there are too many pirates!”

“You expect this boy to stay put it better he have one of us watch over when we find a way to disguise them!” The Gheklings stared at each other, Kiki knew that Fillus, as foolish as they were, did speak truth. Younglings of any race had a tendency to rebel against authority but Kiki also knew the dangers of allowing that kind of freedom to their prisoner; the ghekling let out a sigh and nodded.

“Sometimes Fillus you are as stupid as you are wise, okay boy you will have to earn our trust as well, we want you safe and not just for moneys. We hate your former owner and want to hurt them in any way. Running away from us also will be our death sentence too. Sal the Magicks man is a very murderous especially when unhappy.” The boy could only stare back with what could be described as disdain; however the three finally made it into the Ghekling’s home. Then Fillus removed the boy’s rope bound gag.

“Fucking finally,” The dark elf stretched their mouth a few times trying to get something from cramping itself that was clearly cramped for that last few hours. “That prick caught me the moment I stepped out of his blasted portal.“

“Slip trap?” Kiki nodded in agreement with Fillus's assessment.

“I tripped on a chair.” The two Gheklings then roared with laughter, Fillus falling on the ground rolling in dirt and debris while Kiki doubled over the other way in a sort of crawling position. The dark elf’s misfortune lightning the mood of the otherwise dower and sad looking living space, the old captain’s quarter looked to have been turned into sort of a messy pantry with stones and a metal round shield making something of a cooking space for the two to cook on. Animal bones stacked neatly in a corner with a few choice ones around a pair of hammocks tied into the corner, one hammock only accessible from a desk that had been turned on top of its side, something like a ladder. The chortling of the Gheklings finally calmed down.

“So what's your name elfling? Where are you from?” Kiki being the first of the two to compose themselves to the usually serious demeanour.

“Jet,” The dark elf looked confused at the other question. “I don’t think I am from anywhere, where I was born I don’t really consider home.”

Fillus then finally stopped laughing.

“How about family youngling?” Fillus’s tone took a softer and regretful tone, there feet shifting underneath them until Kiki found them a pair of stools for the two to sit down on. Kiki then hopped up on a crate and began writing things down on a ledger.

“I lost them. I don't know where my brothers and sisters are. My father is dead and my mother might as well be.” Jet tried to play with his bindings but the wizard left the backs of his hands tied together. The most the dark elven boy could do was wriggle his fingers.

“Ah, those that spawned us usually leave when we are young. Gheklings are usually raised by the community but Kiki and I only have each other as hatchlings. You have us as new Hatchmates elfing, we will help you adjust to life here in Red Rock.“ Fillus pulled out a small knife, crafted by hands unknown to any of them. As the Ghekling moved forward as Jet shifted uncomfortably.

“Aren’t you afraid that I am going to run away?”

“Elfing, sorry… Jet, where would you go? You are in Red Rock, the floating city of outlaws. Not only would you doom yourself you would be dooming us as well. Hatchmates take care of each other. Now we will be going with you as we help familiarise yourself with the city but being in this city requires street smarts.” Kiki grabbed some loose bits of cloth and wood bits as they began to prepare a cooking fire, sour smelling smoke filled the room as Fillus cut Jet free and quickly rushed to pull a hidden rope to a hatch above Kiki’s fire. The smoke flowed out the top freely and began to pull air from the rickety boards underneath them. Though the smell was much better Jet did note that the entirely of Red Rock seemed to have a mixture of sweat, stale meat and the mild smell of something rotten below them.

“I don’t know if I’ll get used to the smell,” Jet stretched out his hands and arms, they were more sore then he’d thought they’d be. This wasn’t the mention that his legs must’ve been at an awkward angle since being tied together since they felt like they were twisted up like a piece of rope.

“Is okay, Fillus I need you to go with Jet and get some meats from the market. Fish is preferred but otherwise look for salted pork. Oh! And get something green for the elfing.” Kiki then tossed a couple of bones and remaining meat scraps into the metal shield being used as a makeshift pot. Soon after throwing a half bucket of water to follow. “Oh and salts and spices! I need them too.”

“We has no… Wait! We do has moneys!” Fillus jumped up and down with glee, Jet still stretching his limbs from being tied up for so long wasn’t prepared as the Ghekling crashed into him.

“Hey, watch it!” Jet got back up while rubbing the underside of his chin. Fillus scratched the top of his head but seemed to not notice the dark elf’s growing irritation.

“Meats and spices! Meats and Spices! Keep up Elfing, we get to go to the market with a real gold coin!” Fillus held up a gold coin with the face of some ashokian emperor with the other side having the Imperial raven.

“Hey! You lose the elf you have to answer to the magicks man!” Kiki waggled a rabbit femur at the pair.

“I’ll keep up, don't you worry that mage, the last thing I wanna do is talk to that bastard again. I wasn’t sure where I was going to be but that fuck took me back to the Blight to get back to this misforgotten place.” Jet couldn’t hold himself still, the anger inside of him seemed to boil over physically as he shook with rage.

“Jet we fear the magicks man too, they are all powerful big headed folk. Cause many problems for us no magicks.” Kiki smiled as they spoke, twirling the pen they carried before tapping the tip on the page they were working on scribbling down note. “Another thing to learn though Jet, you do not screw with a Ghekling, our ancestors might have been slaves to the dragon kings but those of us freed from their influence have discovered we have a knack for invention of all kinds. Beware pissing off a ghekling, we hold grudges like the dragons that we cut from.”

“I’ve never seen a dragon,” Jet moved to sit with Kiki. “I want to know more about them. Have you ever met one?”

Fillus looked a little hurt.

“Elfling, we must gather supplies. The stories can wait! Come see what the best pirates and smugglers have to offer.”

“Fine…” Jet sighed loudly, and stomped out the door with Fillus quickly running behind.

“Hey! Slow down!”

“I just wanna get this over with Fillus.” Jet gave Fillus an annoyed look as the two left the makeshift home.

“Ha you have no idea what else there is to this city,” Fillus poked Jet in the side, the dark elven boy still dressed in little better than rags. They didn’t manage to stay in Atalar long and even then Jet only ended up with Nico’s hand me downs and even then they were worn from working in gardens and fields with his master or the local farmers.

“At least it's better than nothing.” Jet stared ahead, deep in thought not thinking about what they said.

“You are a rude elf, like other elves.” Fillus then punched the boy in the thigh.

“Ow! Oh sorry no I was thinking of something else.” Jet then gestured to the rags they wore.

“I was thinking about my clothes, these are probably the nicest I have had for a while and yet I knew a time where I was dressed head to toe in royal garb.”

“Used to? Look how Kiki and I are dressed elf, you fit right into Red Rock with what you have, only pirates are dressed in any way nice and even so they are usually captains.” The two moved through Red Rock, Jet while he had initially gotten ahead of Fillus, had no idea where he was going and was now struggling to keep up with Fillus.

“This place is so confusing to move through.” Fillus simply chuckled at Jet’s complaint. “How does anyone even know where to go?”

“I follow Smuggler's Markings mostly, the whole place is meant to confuse those that don’t belong. Come come! Stay close Jettie I will teach you what to look for.” It didn’t take Fillus long to point something out. “This one is a pirate's den, good first one to know.”

Jet stared at the skull with a single dot underneath it.

“They are usually marked white, yellow or something else bright. Lots of folks use the Red Rock markings in other places of the world that operate with the underground and the smugglers. Oh! Look! This one means a market is nearby! Other places it means black market but there is no black market in Red Rock, you don't need one when there is no king to tell us what can and can’t be sold.” Fillus pointed out a circle with two lines crossed on, though it was probably unnecessary. Jet finally had a chance to marvel at what Red Rock had to offer. Even in the late evening this place was bustling with activity, the smell of smoke permeated the air here. Jet noted that most of the people here weren’t humans or elves, instead gheklings, dwarves, dragonkin, and even a few orcs could be seen. The chorus of the noise of the market deafen the two the any conversation apart from anything that could be heard nearby.

“Fillus! I like your new slave, is he for sale?” That easily snapped Jet back to reality.

“I am not a slave fuck face.” Jet turn to growl at a very tall Dragonkin, greyish almost metallic scales covered the beings body, loose robes were worn though they were about as ragged as Jet’s own clothes.

“Dunghast what sort of meats do you have for sale?” Dunghast just scowled back at Jet while Fillus seemed to offer an indifferent expression.

“You got my money, Fillus?” Dunghast then turned their scowl at Fillus. It seemed nearly permanently etched into the Dragonkin’s face though the expression softly slighted when they regarded the ghekling.

“I have your money Dunghast, I don’t need the place from you either. My brother and I have stopped fighting.”

“That was nearly three months, I thought that fight would have lasted longer…”

“Meats Dunghast, what meats do you have?” Fillus gave the easily annoyed merchant a single gold coin which they snatched faster than any eye could reasonably track.

“I have Cod, Valefin, Octopus, Rissek, even some salted pork Fil, why do you have elfling with you?” Jet continued his scowl at the Dragonkin.

“I will take your salty pork for sure, two Valefins and I think that's about it.” Dunghast quickly packed up the foodstuffs.

“I am going to keep the rest unless you tell me why you have an elfling with you.” There was a low growl in Dunghast’s voice and they hovered over Fillus as they dropped the paper wrapped goods into Fillus’s hands.

“Thank you Dunghast, I uhhh… I will have to shop elsewhere for now.” Fillus turned around and pushed the meat into Jet’s arms and they turned to leave.

“What was that guy’s problem?” Jet turned and left with Fillus, both of which disappeared into the crowd.

“Maybe bad idea to have you out with me this evening, Dunghast is very unsavoury.”

“Yeah he seemed like a real prick.” At that Fillus laughed loudly.

“True but he means well enough, he doesn’t like when me and Kiki make deals with dangerous people and the Magicks man is a very dangerous person.”

“I don’t like him either.” Jet shuddered. “Dude gives me the creeps, I don’t like Dunghast either though. Something about him makes me think he’s up to something.”

“Might be, kind of have to expect that sort of thing here though Jettie.” Fillus tossed Jet a wink and continued to the next stall which had many sad looking vegetables and stunted looking fruit.

“Would you stop calling me that?” Jet looked disapprovingly at the selection before the two of them.

“Quarter of a stone’s worth of potatoes please, four velvet roots and a dozen carrots.” The vendor didn’t say much, a tired looking dwarf with what looked like a relieved look on their face as Fillus pulled out six silver coins and placed them on the stall. Now that the two each had a load of food to bring back, Fillus motioned for Jet to follow.

“Jettie is a great nickname, you are joining us for the time and we must use a different name outside the house. Spies are everywhere, Jettie.” Jet couldn’t disagree, as much as he hated the mage named Sal, he knew he’d rather deal with that mage then whatever his former owners' plans were for him. Slipping through the streets the two began their trip back home.