As the [Fireball]s faded off into the distance, still chasing those poor and unfortunate fools that simply had no idea that their best bet would be to ditch their sloops and escape on a rowboat, Alistaira retired to the Captain’s Quarters on board the ‘merchant’ ship. This ship had enough space for Alistaira to continue her studies, but she had been forbidden from doing so while on board due to her accidental magical discharges that had occurred several times before. She wasn’t ashamed of those, mind you. Sometimes you just kind of go off early or at an unexpected time; it’s entire normal and it happens to everyone.

She did remember the rule that if it kept happening that she would need to see a certified specialist, but she knew that premature and/or unplanned magical emission was a hazard of the job. The sailors were not aware of this, and even if they were, having a lance of fire or ice shooting off inside a confined, wooden space was not a very safe thing for anyone on board. They say that abstinence is one of the best forms of preventing unwanted eruptions of magic inside confined spaces, and unfortunately Alistaira had never been one to take such advice willingly. But she had to admit, a sunken ship was far less likely to sail into a harbor than a floating one.

The actual captain of the ship, a man whose name is inconsequential to the story and therefore will not be said, took command back from the magical recluse and had the pirate ships stripped of their cargo and any valuables before having them set alight and sent to the bottom of the sea. The sailors and their captain were at first quite delighted to have scored such plunder, as there were boxes and crates and barrels galore aboard the now sinking ships, but once they had opened a few their jubilation turned to disappointment. These were men who had grown used to the canned and packaged food and drinks from Darksol, and realizing that the vast majority of their gains were heavily salted meats and fish, stale water, hardtack and cheap booze was, of course, not something they thought too highly of.

The few precious trinkets they managed to swipe before scuttling the pirate ships proved to be rather poor quality as well. The sailors and their captain were used to the mass-produced artisan-quality works made by a mostly undead labor force, so a few ‘poorly’ cut gems, a few hundred coins of various types and a handful of mostly-clear glass beads made the whole exercise feel rather pointless. Some even wondered if it would have been better if they had just sunk the ships with everything on board and not waste time with such an errand. Thankfully, however, a smarter mind prevailed.

The dour mood was livened ever so slightly when one of the more extroverted sailors had an idea.

“Hey! Why don’t we sell this shit when we get to the next port? This stuff may be crap compared to what we’re used to, but the Sultanate may pay for all of this. Besides, our ‘merchandise’ is a little on the light side anyways, so adding this to it would make our trip that much more valuable.”

Steve had a point, and the other sailors came to the same conclusion, although some took a bit more convincing than others. With the decision made, the ship’s anchor was raised and all aboard went on their merry way.

…

It was a normal day at the port city of Ars-Saihar, a place that was roughly an analogue for the city of Alexandria in Earth’s Egypt, but slightly more well off than its counterpart during the medieval times. But the prosperity of the city was not the only thing separating it from Alexandria, as there were a number of various humanoid races all mingling about in this bustling port. The docks in particular were a hub of activity, and this day was no exception as ships were loaded and unloaded by able hands and crews wandered off their vessels to help in the loading or to go further in and get piss drunk. All was going swimmingly until a single ship came in.

It was an odd ship, as it was a fair bit bigger than almost any other ship which had docked there in the past three years. And, to make things even weirder, the outside of the ship seemed to be covered in a metal coating that was utterly devoid of any visible parasites. The wood of the ship looked strange as well, with it appearing almost as though it were petrified wood rather than regular dried wood. These things combined would make the new ship stick out like a sore thumb, but oddly enough the more you looked at it the less you felt like it was an oddity. The unknown ship docked in an empty spot and the captain and a single woman disembarked to engage in a mercantile duel of words with the merchants there.

It took the two a bit as they seemed to orient themself about the area, but eventually they contacted a buyer already dealing with another ship’s goods.

The duel of words went well for the newcomers; almost too well, as if magic was being used to twist the minds of the merchants into buying wares whose quality that they had not seen. However, no magical traces could be detected, so it was just chalked up to the two new people having silver tongues. With the buying and selling of goods arranged, the new ship’s crew began to offload their wares and load up new ones, but the arrival of a certain special someone changed the course of all events to come.

For, you see, Ars-Saihar was a very wealthy place, and those who controlled the city held onto their grip with all the power that money and favors could buy. This led to the city effectively being cut up into zones, with each one being controlled by a different family dynasty. The docks were under the control of the Ars-Hazra Family, but their members were not the first to approach the two new faces. The family that approached the two was the aptly named the Ars-Dhahabi Family, the ones who ‘owned’ all the merchants and a wide assortment of other businesses. The Ars-Dhahabi Family was a relative newcomer and was seen as upstarts by the other families, but none could deny their ability when it came to the Art of the Deal. They normally didn’t put a stranglehold on free trade, but the most recent heir to the family was not known for playing fair and treating the family’s ‘partners’ well.

You all can see where this is going, can’t you? Yes, the heir to the Ars-Dhahabi Family walked down the docks with an air of contempt and self-assured narcissism in his eyes for everyone else and himself, respectively. Once he reached the captain and the woman which he had heard entered the dock, his eyes immediately scanned them over, he himself not forgetting to appreciate the charms of the lady.

These were the unknowns he had heard entered that were not under the control of another family, meaning he could get his own small connections into the dock. He started thinking, formulating some way to win them over before the other families made contact with them. He had an idea, but that would require a gamble. What he was about to do was take a calculated risk; unfortunately for him, he was, in this case, very bad with math.