Along the western coast of the great continent of Caracantha was the kingdom of Iokania, a kingdom ruled by a council of the five wealthiest merchants in the kingdom. Their weapons were trade and gold, two items that almost ever bought the right response from rival kingdoms.
The Golden Boar, one of the nicer sleazy dives in Westfell, Iokonia's Capital, was alive with the sounds of a great celebration. Glasses were clinking together and dirty jokes filled the smoky tavern air. It was this merry sounds that brought Dirk Hallston and his crew to the Golden Boar's door, but they were a little less than merry.

Sebastian Martell and his crew of the airship Esmeraldas' Triumph were enjoying another round when the door of the tavern swung open and smashed into the table nearest the door, throwing the table to the floor with a loud crash. The crew turned to see Dirk and his men storm in, " Martell!" snarled Dirk, " you screwed us."
" No, to be precise I screwed your sister" said Sebastian, not turning around to face Dirk.
" You know what I'm talking about wise-ass" said Dirk, " that was our prize, we had it fair and square."
" Yah at three times the price" said Sebastian, " not my fault if we gave the old guy the real price of that old moldy book."
" You screwed us and your going to pay" said Dirk, pulling a dirk from his boot.
Sebastian's crew immediately leapt from their bar stools and readied to defend their captain. " Now, now" said Gabriel Vallic, the ship's navigator stepping between Sebastian and Dirk, " we don't need to spoil the mood, here let me buy you and your crew a drink."
Dirk put his dirk back in his boot and was about to agree when one of his crew shouted, " No way to I drink with these bastards!"
He pushed Sebastian making him spill his beer over the bar. " You ass!" shouted Audrey Silvertail, one of the ship's two Rune Mages.
The Cataka grabbed her barstool and swung it at the man. She hit him square in the chest and everybody watched him rocket across the bar and slam into the wall. Everyone stared in amazement, especially the man who was now imbedded two inches in the wall. Audrey looked down at the stool and noticed something written on a white label on the stool's leg.

" Ooops" said Audrey, her silver feline ears slowly tucking in.
" Get them!!" shouted Dirk.

Elanna Dullan, the Elvish first officer and doctor of the Esmeraldas' Triumph, slowly stepped off the ferry boat, the ferry captain's eyes glued to her firm ass. Elanna gently jogged up the steps to the street, making the man coming down the steps miss the step and stumbled straight into the water, entranced by the subtle bounce in her tight white shirt. Her dark purple hair slowly fluttered in the breeze, her glittering blue eyes sparkling in the afternoon light. Elanna's body drew the eyes of every man on the street; she was a true elven beauty. Elanna scowled, this is why she hated going here, she knew any moment these idiots would be falling over her with marriage proposals. She turned the corner and stopped, she could hear the fracas and she was two blocks away. She slowly shook her head and sighed, this should be a surprise but after all these years with Sebastian it really wasn't. Elanna strolled down the street towards the Golden Boar wondering what the cause for this little bar fracas. She reached the tavern and managed to avoid Tanis Grimhammer, the ship's one eyed dwarven master of arms, getting tossed out the window. " Oh that's how you fight huh? Toss the dwarf around? Well buddy I hope you kissed your ass goodbye!" he shouted.
Tanis started for the door but was stopped by Elanna. " Oh hi Elanna" he said in his deep burr, " come to join in?"
" No" said Elanna, " we have a job."
" Well it will be a minute" said Tanis, pulling the door off it's hinges, " this reminds me of the siege at Five Forks, oh that was a bar fight!"
Elanna could hear the loud meowing of the Catakas and then a loud thump. She shrieked as she dove to the ground to avoid Dirk Hallston as he was throwing clean through the wall and into the canal next to the tavern. Elanna heard an ominous creaking and then a loud snap of wood. The tavern began to tremble and her entire crew lept through the doorway or the window just in time to avoid the tavern's roof collapsing. " Oh hi Elanna" said Sebastian.
" Good to see you too" said Elanna, " it's hard to get jobs with my entire crew dead from a bar fight."
" We're all still alive" said Gabriel.
" And you" said Elanna, her pointed ears turning bright in anger, " I told you to keep them out of trouble."
" I tried" said Gabriel, soaked in beer with a black eye, " until somebody here decides to wield the magical bar stool."
" Oh shut up" said Audrey.
" Yah, quick picking on my sister" snapped Alexus Silvertail, " they started it."
" I don't care who started it" said Tanis, " that was a great bar fight."
" Look" said Elanna, " the man has sent a message to us."
" Finally, it has only been three days" said Sebastian, " okay let's go."
Sebastian got to his feet and dusted his clothes off and shook the plaster from his red hair. He offered Elanna his hand, but she pushed herself up on her own. " Oh hell" said Elanna, putting her finger through a rip in her shirt, " I just bought this."
" Come on" said Gabriel, " let's not keep the man waiting."

Across town, on top of Beacon Hill stood the magnificent palace of Tobias Schwartzenselbe. The fabulous palace was the envy of all the human rulers in all of Caracantha. The group slowly climbed up the ornately carved marble steps to the main gates, all 240 of then. " Oh hell, I'm going to complain" panted Tanis, " these steps were never made for dwarves, oh hell I'm going to die."
" What the Ogres Horde of Black Marsh didn't kill you but some really pretty marble steps will?" asked Elanna.
" I was able to bash the Ogres, I think I might upset his bloated grace if I took my warhammer to these" said Tanis. The group finally reached the top of the stairs and Sebastian rung the bell. A chorus of chimes echoed across the entire palace, more bells joining it as it traveled deeper into the palace creating a sweet melody. The main door slowly opened and a butler appeared, " Sebastian Martell and the crew of the Esmeraldas' Triumph here to see your master" said Sebastian.
He looked at them, the stench of them repulsed him. " One moment please" he said, barely containing his gags.
He closed the door and Elanna made sure to step to the left. A giant bucket of water was poured on them. Audrey and Alexus both were howling liked they had just been beaten, cats even humanoid ones still hate getting wet. Elanna giggled watching the two Catakas shaking themselves dry. The door opened again, " Much better" said the butler, " he will see you now."
The group was let in through the doors, they all whistled in awe. A group of guards surrounded them, " What the fuck?" asked Tanis.
" Nothing personal sir" said the butler, " we just don't want sticky fingers to get the better of you, but don't worry, we won't kill you here."
" What you take us outside so we won't mess the floors?" asked Tanis.
" Exactly" he said, " no please follow me."
The butler led them through the massive palace into the courtyard. The courtyard had a large pool in the middle with dozens of gorgeous naked women laying around it or swimming in it. " Oh my" said Sebastian.
" Need someone to hold your tongue so it doesn't drag on the ground?" asked Elanna.
" No, I can think of several other places I would like it to drag" said Sebastian.
Audrey pushed her index finger into Sebastian's side and slowly let her claw extend. " Ouch" said Sebastian, " I'm only human."
" Ah Sebastian Martell and crew" said Tobias Schwartzenselbe, waddling his flabby frame down to the courtyard, " sorry to keep you waiting, enjoying my courtyard. It is where I come to relax."
" It is very nice" said Sebastian, watching as two girls walked past, both giggling at him, " very, very nice."
" Well I am in need of your special services" he said, " I had managed to obtain a certain rather rare artifact from a seller in Josta. Some of my incompetent men were trying to return the artifact to me when they lost it somewhere around the town of Shakleford. I need it return to me, if someone else has taken my prize from me I want them punished as well."
" Mr. Schwartzenselbe" said Sebastian, " we're not assassins."
" For 85,000 Iokonian gold coins I think you might reconsider your position" said Tobias.
" That is very generous" said Sebastian, " I think we can solve your problem for that."
" Excellent" said Tobias, grinning like some pale skinned toad, " I have one more thing to add to this."
Elanna closed her eyes, here it comes the big if that usually screwed them out of their money. " You will need someone to authenticate the artifact" said Tobias, " I have one of the few people that know the artifact by heart, Elsenor Reyaf Kei Deppe Cashel."
Tobias motioned to their left and the crew turned to watch as Faerie woman slowly descend a flight of stairs. Her light blue hair looked to be woven from pure silk; her body was petite but filled out in all the right places, mainly the rear and the chest. She was quiet the rival to Elanna to be the best looking woman in the room. Her lavender wings slowly twitched as she faced the crew, " Elsenor" said Tobias, " this is Sebastian Martell."
" The freelancer" said Elsenor with a certain level of noble distain in her voice.
" Yes, and I need you to accompany them to find my lost artifact" he said.
Elsenor's eyes got big, this must have been quiet a surprise to her, but she quickly regained her composure, " Certainly" she said, " I would be delighted to help you."
" Thank you so very much" said Tobias.
" Good day Mr. Schwartzenselbe" said Sebastian, " we will purchase a few needed supplies and be on our way."
" Certainly, I will throw in an extra 5 thousand if you can return my artifact by the time of the Summer Festival" said Tobias.
" Certainly" said Sebastian, with a smile.

The front gates slammed, " What supplies?" asked Alexus, " We already went shopping before we went drinking."
" Exactly" said Sebastian, " gives us a couple of extra days to find whatever this thing is."
" What is it exactly is the artifact?" asked Gabriel.
" The Fertility Statue of Lamech" said Elsenor, " it has certain restorative powers that a man like Tobias needs to make full use of his treasures."
" What?" asked Audrey with a blank look in her eyes.
Gabriel leaned over and whispered into her ear, " You mean all them women and he can't... well you know?" asked Audrey.
" Guess money can buy everything" said Tanis, " so how did you get a hold of this? You don't look like you need help in that department."
" My kingdom once owned it" said Elsenor, " it was just a trinket."
" What does it look like?" asked Gabriel.
" Twelve inches high, figures of a man and a woman holding a large golden sun between them" said Elsenor.
" Sounds interesting" said Sebastian, " here we are, Elsenor this is the Esmeraldas' Triumph."
Elsenor looked at the airship, it looked a great deal like a normal sea vessel, except it had no sails. On the bow was a likeness of the goddess of the sky, Esmeraldas. The walked up the gag plank to the deck of the vessel, " Okay everybody you know your jobs, let's get airborne" said Sebastian, " Elsenor, Elanna will show you to your accommodations down below."
Audrey and Alexus scampered down the hatch underneath the pilot deck and into the depths of the ship, they split up once the reached the bottom and went to the bow and stern of the ship where the secret to the airship laid. Sitting on two pedestals were the two orange and black stones roughly the size of a large melon, these were the Rune Stones. Audrey and Alexus shouted " 1! 2! 3!", and started to chant.
As they chanted they mixed several ingredients into a bowl slowly stirring. They slowly took the contents of the bowl on their fingers and painted three symbols on pieces of paper. They laid the paper on the Rune Stones and watched them slowly melt into the stones.
The Esmeraldas' Triumph slowly began to lift into the air, Tanis and Gabriel tossing the mooring ropes off the sides of the ship as the ship rose high into the air. Once the ship had cleared the rooftops surrounding the landing port, Tanis and Gabriel deployed the sails which went from the top and bottom of the ship like inverted bird wings. The breeze slowly caught the sails and along with the magical currents produced by the Rune Stones, the Esmeraldas' Triumph began to travel through the air at a brisk pace. Sebastian stood behind the helm and slowly navigated north over Westfell. Sebastian took in a deep breath, it was times like these he felt so free.

Elanna pushed the door open into the tiny room, " This is all yours" said Elanna.
" This is it?" asked Elsenor.
" The same size as our quarters" said Elanna.
" Well thank you" said Elsenor, " you're sure there isn't anything bigger, so that maybe I can turn around without cramping my wings?"
" You don't have to stay in there all day" said Elanna.
Elsenor shrugged and walked into the room, her wings got in the way of the door closing. " Thank you Elanna, this place is tip top" said Elsenor.
Elanna shook her head, Iokonia was nothing but trouble, first she has to haul the crew out of a bar fight, then they get a Faerie, who thinks she is queen of Duwelladelfina. Elanna was getting that twitchy feeling in her ears again; this was all building up to some serious trouble. Elanna knew she should be use to it by now with this crew trouble was never far away, probably because some people on this ship don't bath as much as Elanna would like.

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